Antibiotics
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2003 2:45 am
Interesting article in BBC World News online. How I wish that homoeopathy
was more generally accepted and good minds involved in using it, Jean
Last Updated: Monday, 16 June, 2003, 23:05 GMT 00:05 UK
E-mail this to a friend Printable version
New antibiotics 'could prove deadly'
Bacteria have acquired resistance to drugs
A new class of antibiotics offers massive benefits to today's patients - but
could place future generations in danger, say experts.
Some scientists say that the principle behind a new crop of drugs currently
under development will make it far tougher for bugs to become resistant to
them.
This is because they work in the same way as many of the methods which the
body itself has always used to rid itself of bacterial infections.
But other researchers say that it is quite possible that bacteria will
acquire resistance - and when they do, this will make life far more
difficult, as our own defence mechanisms will be rendered far less potent.
Cuts and grazes
Even minor cuts and grazes will take far longer to heal, they warn, and
could even progress to far more serious bacterial infections.
In addition, the researchers say, the body's inability to keep down other
types of bacteria could lead to a surge in chronic illnesses such as heart
disease and cystic fibrosis.
The new family of drugs, called "Ramp" antimicrobials, are being developed
in response to growing resistance to existing antibiotic drugs.
There are fears that virtually all drugs could be rendered far less
effective as microbes evolve to dodge their attacks.
Infection risk
However Professor Graham Bell, from McGill University in Canada, warns that
the new antibiotics pose "a serious and unprecedented" risk to public
health.
He warns that regulatory authorities tend not to look many years ahead when
deciding whether to grant licences to new drugs.
"They are poorly designed to detect even grave and highly probable risks to
public health arising from the population biology of microbes.
"Instead of dismissing the possibility that widespread resistance will
evolve, we should use the bitter experience that we have gained from
conventional antibiotics to plan for it."
Researchers are learning more about how bacteria manage to acquire
resistance to the drugs designed to wipe them out.
Because they reproduce so often, genetic mutations arise frequently, and
occasionally these will equip the bacterium better to resist antibiotics.
When antibiotics are given - particularly if a full course is not completed
- this gives the resistant colonies a chance to get established and develop
further resistance.
Research has shown that certain bacteria species can even exchange genetic
material - possibly including resistance genes - from other species simply
through close contact.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
was more generally accepted and good minds involved in using it, Jean
Last Updated: Monday, 16 June, 2003, 23:05 GMT 00:05 UK
E-mail this to a friend Printable version
New antibiotics 'could prove deadly'
Bacteria have acquired resistance to drugs
A new class of antibiotics offers massive benefits to today's patients - but
could place future generations in danger, say experts.
Some scientists say that the principle behind a new crop of drugs currently
under development will make it far tougher for bugs to become resistant to
them.
This is because they work in the same way as many of the methods which the
body itself has always used to rid itself of bacterial infections.
But other researchers say that it is quite possible that bacteria will
acquire resistance - and when they do, this will make life far more
difficult, as our own defence mechanisms will be rendered far less potent.
Cuts and grazes
Even minor cuts and grazes will take far longer to heal, they warn, and
could even progress to far more serious bacterial infections.
In addition, the researchers say, the body's inability to keep down other
types of bacteria could lead to a surge in chronic illnesses such as heart
disease and cystic fibrosis.
The new family of drugs, called "Ramp" antimicrobials, are being developed
in response to growing resistance to existing antibiotic drugs.
There are fears that virtually all drugs could be rendered far less
effective as microbes evolve to dodge their attacks.
Infection risk
However Professor Graham Bell, from McGill University in Canada, warns that
the new antibiotics pose "a serious and unprecedented" risk to public
health.
He warns that regulatory authorities tend not to look many years ahead when
deciding whether to grant licences to new drugs.
"They are poorly designed to detect even grave and highly probable risks to
public health arising from the population biology of microbes.
"Instead of dismissing the possibility that widespread resistance will
evolve, we should use the bitter experience that we have gained from
conventional antibiotics to plan for it."
Researchers are learning more about how bacteria manage to acquire
resistance to the drugs designed to wipe them out.
Because they reproduce so often, genetic mutations arise frequently, and
occasionally these will equip the bacterium better to resist antibiotics.
When antibiotics are given - particularly if a full course is not completed
- this gives the resistant colonies a chance to get established and develop
further resistance.
Research has shown that certain bacteria species can even exchange genetic
material - possibly including resistance genes - from other species simply
through close contact.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]