21st Century Microbiology: Cheatobiotics: how can we use them?

21st Century Microbiology: Cheatobiotics: how can we use them?: http://www.zoo.ox.ac.uk/group/gardner/media/NewScientist_Oct_2011.pdf This article is SO interesting and provocative. It was found and c...

21st Century Microbiology: Influenza then and now

flu blog

Antimicrobial Resistance

When antibiotics were first available during World War II, they were very effective in fighting bacterial infections and disease, now the overuse of antibiotics has caused bacteria to become resistant to various antibiotics. The reason why is because some people might be prescribed antibiotics when they do not necessarily need them resulting in the antibiotic becoming ineffective. (over prescribing antibiotics) Preventative medicine might be a cause as well due to vaccinations and immunizations that are frequently given to prevent illness and disease.  The consequences of these situations is that bacteria are able to pass their resistance on to other bacteria resulting in a new evolution of bacteria and their ability to survive because they have acquired an adaptation to the drug. (survival of the fittest)The effect is that these bacteria continue to produce   which eventually causes acceleration in illness and antibiotics for a particular strain eventually stop working.

We can help reduce their resistance by only prescribing antibiotics for sick humans and animals with various strains of bacterial infections and using them only when needed, educating patients about the proper use of antibiotics, reducing usage of fluoroquinolones which cause many adverse drug reactions more than any antibiotic therapy mainly, CNS toxicity, they can also cause potential MRSA infections and C. dificile which are colonizing infections that lead to severe complications.  The major problem here is that we cannot produce antibiotics fast enough to keep pace with bacterial resistance and another problem is that  we have no control over the evolution of bacteria because they change their genetic makeup, plasmids and genetic sequencing over time through genetic transformations which account for the gene plasticity of bacteria. They are always adapting to new environments and acquiring new genes through horizontal transfer, or movement of genetic material between bacteria, a method other than cell division. They exchange genetic material through transformation, conjugation and transduction.

In conclusion, bacteria are always undergoing changes in their genetic variation and their DNA. They are always trying to hide and evade the antimicrobials in order to avoid death.  The ways in which they can do this is by way of the following:

Mutation- A change in the DNA leading to a change in the product of the gene which is the microbial’s target.

Destruction/ Inactivation- Bacteria produce enzymes that degrade or deactivate

If these microbial methods are successful, then it is very likely that resistance will continue to happen.

 Our fate rests in the hands of natural selection involving bacteria. Some bacteria will possess traits that enable them to survive in the presence of a lethal substance. This is an advantageous trait.  If enough bacteria exist with this advantageous trait, the next time antibiotics are selected for this particular microbe, it will be rendered useless because the bacteria have developed the traits to resist it. The only thing that we can do is monitor bacterial resistance and keep educating ourselves on bacteria as they evolve through time.

21st Century Microbiology: Antimicrobial Resistance Animation of Antimicrobi...

21st Century Microbiology: Antimicrobial Resistance Animation of Antimicrobi...: Antimicrobial Resistance Animation of Antimicrobial Resistance This animation was produced by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) as p...

Flu Blog

The Flu in the year 1918 definitely took millions of lives and there were certainly huge repercussions. If there were ever a pandemic to occur in 2011 in the U.S.,  a number of near simultaneous events would likely occur:

There would definitely be an increase in the demand for medical services as many people would seek to decrease their risk of infection. The supply of workers would temporarily decline as many would become ill or stay at home to care for family members. This would also lead to a reduction in the workforce

Spanish Flu scenario was extremely deadly, and is unlikely to happen nowadays. The medical

development since 1918 has been huge. Our advances in technology are flourished.

 Furthermore, we are now better prepared for a pandemic due to our latest technology.

Also the conditions in 2011 are better than in 1918. We do know that right now there is no cure against a mutated virus.

Policymakers, health officials, and economists have tried to develop scenarios and estimate the potential short- and long-term effects that a modern day outbreak may have on our economy.

To prevent another outbreak more viruses are being studied and flu vaccines are being given as a precautionary measure.

21st Century Microbiology: Contagion! Fact or Fiction

21st Century Microbiology: Contagion! Fact or Fiction: Coming this September! Warner Brothers' version of a pandemic: Contagion. View the trailer and comment on what you think the movie is about...

This movie was pretty good over all. I think that that the chemicals were in place in the movie and the storyline was pretty realistic. This movie demonstrated and emphasized the very important material that we learn in microbiology, etiology of infectious diseases handwashing and aseptic techniques, microbial growth and study of virulent disease. The best part of the movie was when anarchy and public outrage, riots etc. ensued. I think the movie was very realistic in portrying the finer details such as the incubation period to the time that the disease rapidly spread. It makes me think about the political side of the pharmaceutical companies and their intentions to help find a cure for lethal pandemics.

Blog: So you think parasitic diseases are a third-world problem?

 Blog: So you think parasitic diseases are a third-world problem?  9/11/11

I've gathered some recent headlines about parasitic incidences and outbreaks right here in the very developed U.S. Parasitic diseases, especially the tropical types, are typically more common in developing countries. This is especially true in children where their general health and nutrition is not optimal. But, parasites are alive and well anywhere there are animal (human and other) hosts. So read up. Comment on the following questions.

·         What are the underlying causes and concerns in these outbreaks?

o   The cause for concern amid these outbreaks is the fact that they are commonplace and that they can potentially infect hundreds and maybe millions of people worldwide due to the country’s water systems being so outdated that they cannot keep out every protozoan and bacteria especially when they are over-stressed.

·         What can happen when standard procedures are not followed or fail (ex., normal chlorination of water)?

o   Consequentially, potentially fatal disease causing organisms are introduced into the water supply. Microbial growth from different sources also can become opportunistic to humans as a potential pathogen.

·         Should you be worried in your everyday life?

o   We should be more vigilant and conscientious of what is in our water supply.

o   We should also protect ourselves by being mindful of cleanliness and sanitation in the areas that we use for recreation and food and water supplies. We could also contribute to prevention by monitoring our septic tanks, avoiding  defecation and urination by public sites that contain water such as streams, lakes, drains, pools, etc.

o   We should be aware of any terrorists attacks that cause potential and fatal  release of intentional chemicals into our water supply as well as a disruption in treatment in water supplies.

Contagion Movie Blog

 Just saw the movie Contagion, an epic bio-thriller. In the movie Contagion, the race is on to find a vaccine for a lethal global pandemic called MEV1. The virus quickly spread through China and the U.S. areas killing a couple of people, then a couple of hundred then the number of infected and dead victims killed were increase and multiplied by thousand and then millions.

The movie is about a fictional virus called,  MEV 1 consisted of a high fever, chills, seizures, disorientation, sweating, nausea, foaming at the mouth, lethargy etc.  similar to the virus H1N1

 A lethal virus with no treatment protocol and no vaccine? What could this have been from? How? Where? What were the cases statistically? Nobody knew.

The CDC and the WHO worked together tirelessly to put the information together to learn what they could about the virus, it’s origin, how it attaches to the cell and the damage that it causes to the cells and the body while it replicates hostily.

 During a meeting, the epidemiologists, doctors and researchers in the movie, suggested that the germs from people who were exposed to the virus came from fomites, or surface areas. The places that people sit on, touch and come in physical contact with while carrying the virus. People infected bus poles, phones, doorknobs, buttons, personal spaces and so on. The infected group of people coughed releasing infected respiratory droplets which likely infected others and spread which was the very reason that everyone was seen wearing the protective masks and the body substance isolation gear throughout the film especially around the dead bodies.  Some interesting information that I picked up during the movie was that the average person touches their face three to five times per minute. In between these times we touch door knobs, water fountains and each other. How cautionary is that? Interesting that a lot of this information is what we learned in class about handwashing, Germ Theory of Disease, Koch’s postulates and the very evil side of bacteria.

There was a complete and wide spread panic and engendered distrust of the government in which riots broke out resulting in burglaries, thefts and killings among people whom were desperate for the cure. Once word got out that there would be a goverened supply of food and medication vaccinations people were panicking all over the place. All health inspectors walk around in hazmat suits, police, firefighters try to get the situation stable to no avail. To add to more widespread panic, there is a blogger who relentlessly tries to convince the public that there is s conspiracy between pharmaceutical agencies and the government to hide the facts about the virus.

The director attempted to make the story seem as authentic as possible by showing the impact that the virus had on millions of people and how . Have they succeeded? Maybe so.  It might have turned me into a germaphobe of some sort. I have to say… I would have questions about the government’s intentions should an outbreak occur. Would they actually keep a life saving cure from the public in order to profit off of other companies for vaccinations and treatments?  Sounds like greed to me.

I am an EMT and a Medical Assistant. Many people will come into urgent care  and demand antibiotics for viruses. They can only alleviate the symptoms temporarily, not cure their virus. Many people are confused about the difference between viruses and bacterial infections. Antibiotics do not cure viruses. Antibiotic resistance can occur and render uselessness against infections during the time of need.  

My career  will be working as a nurse soon and I just hope that medical professionals are also aware of sterility and asceptic techniques in their minds so that we set the bar and prevent contributing to this unfortunate possibility in reality.

The nature of this movie, Contagion is to make us feel compelled to keep in mind what microorganisms that we might come in contact with throughout our daily lives which should inspire us to wash our hands and be cognizant of germs and how they can spread and cause disease.

The role that I would play if I were in the movie would have been the role of Dr Ally Hextall, who was working to perfect a vaccine before time ran out. The heroic part of her role was that she saved millions of lives by injecting herself with the vaccines due to her time constraint and human and animal trials not being a viable option during the movie.  

My Thoughts On Blogging For The First Time

8/29/11

My name is Charita and I never understood the importance of blogging. I see people do it all of the time and  I read what they wrote and basically what I thought was that it was for those people who prefer to use it to get something off of their chest. A means of expression or a relative thought that they had about a particular event in the world. I thought it was really for people who were interested in... leisure self expression.

Blogging is more than that. I learned that people who blog often blog to share information about their jobs, families, careers and different experiences in life and they often want to express themselves and explore eachother's thoughts about particular things so they exchange ideas among one another. Blogging can be used as something creative or it can be used by the media, students and whomever to voice opinions and comment on another person's blog site.
I think that this is a great opprotunity for me to learn something new such as blogging. It is really not as complex as it looked and I furthermore, I think that I will actually grow from this experience and enjoy it.