Super doom germs from India!

[Alondro]

 

Another reason not to travel to Asia for plastic surgery

Well, if the plasmid carrying this resistance gene gets into MRSA, Streptococcus, or Campylobacter, we'll all be screwed.  Or worse, imagine if mycobacteria pick it up.  Tuberculosis will return with a vengeance.  The only thing we'll have to rely on is our immune system again.  The olden days of fearing any infection will return.

[Keleth]

My immune system is pretty awesome.

I hardly take medication for anything. And thus, am pretty awesome when it comes to immunity.

[Vidar]

My immune system is pretty awesome.

I hardly take medication for anything. And thus, am pretty awesome when it comes to immunity.

So is mine, to pretty much anything I get in contact with anyway.
Still, you do not want to be exposed to these superbugs. If only one nasty bug gets past your immune system, you're screwed, no matter how invincible you think you are.
Right now, a lot of bacteria are getting worryingly resistant to penicillin and stronger antibiotics.
When these little buggers out-evolve our antibiotics, the human race will medically be just as screwed as we were in Victorian times. A rather daunting prospect to be sure.

[Inumo]

That's assuming we stay static with our antibiotics. Remember, we're evolving technologically just as much as the bacteria. Humanity will always find a way to survive, it's just a matter of death toll before we've solved the problem. We are too tenacious of a species thanks to sentience for us to not find a way to survive, even if the quality of life is absolute crap.

[Keleth]

Our own immune systems , if properly developed and not stunted by being spoiled by modern anti-biotics and sterile obsession.

Can evolve as well. Suprised how many people seem to not notice that little tidbit...

[Jairus]

Mother Nature is like that. It's simple evolution. What doesn't work dies off, what does survives. So, now we've got bugs that can survive most of our nastiest antibiotics. I'm not too worried about a worst-case scenario yet, though.

[Alteisentier]

There's little point worrying, this kinda stuff happens all the time. And.. We just combat it in a different way; really. You think people would stop freaking out eventually after seeing the new super de duper killer bug/virus/animal/monster of the week year after year.

[Inumo]

You think people would stop freaking out eventually after seeing the new super de duper killer bug/virus/animal/monster of the week year after year.

But they still do, and that's why the news people make money. Hooray for sensationalism!

[Keleth]

Oh guys.

BIRD FLU!

KILL US ALL! ZOMG!!!

[Alteisentier]

Oh guys.

BIRD FLU!

KILL US ALL! ZOMG!!!

This just in, today at 5pm a middle aged Texan man of average body weight sneezed in a northward direction, scientists research indicated that a sudden gust of wind from a nearby hurricane may carry the sneeze at an alarming rate over the upper states, possibly infecting and causing the spread of crazy ass panic syndrome once more. Government officials suggest closing your windows and doors until the wave of stupid passes by; and everything returns to normal just in time for it to start again. Economists have factored in the costs for this current crisis; and estimate the damage toll at massive income for tissue manufacturers and alcoholic hand gel wash producers.

[VAE]

Our own immune systems , if properly developed and not stunted by being spoiled by modern anti-biotics and sterile obsession.

Can evolve as well. Suprised how many people seem to not notice that little tidbit...

Our immune systems weren't stunted simply because those whose were died, like some siblings of my grandfather in the 40's

[Mao]

A sensationalist post from Alondro?  Perish the thought!

[Kafzeil]

Shut.
Down.
EVERYTHING.

[Alteisentier]

Shut.
Down.
EVERYTHING.

Well that's it, close the thread.

[Jairus]

Shut.
Down.
EVERYTHING.

Well that's it, close the thread.

And the internet, close that down too!

[Inumo]

Shut.
Down.
EVERYTHING.

Well that's it, close the thread.

And the internet, close that down too!

Don't forget phone lines!

[Mao]

Madagascar wannabes.

[bill]

The internet will be closed on 8/13/2010. Please vacate all websites by that time. Thank you.

[Jairus]

The internet will be closed on 8/13/2010. Please vacate all websites by that time. Thank you.

...
If your avatar showed up on every website, I WOULD abandon the internet for the day. Seriously, that's scary shit right there. 

[bill]

hes just confused

[Inumo]

I think the image would end up looking more like the Habbo Hotel troll. You know, "the pool is closed?"

[Joe3210]

A sensationalist post from Alondro?  Perish the thought!

A "Don't feed the trolls" macro is needed for this forum.

We all gonna die!  (sooner or later)

[Mao]

Nah, the moderation staff needs to eat.  Putting up signs that say not to feed us would be bad.

[Alteisentier]

Nah, the moderation staff needs to eat.  Putting up signs that say not to feed us would be bad.

No where near as bad as the "No Drinking" signs though.

[LionHeart]

This just in, today at 5pm a middle aged Texan man of average body weight sneezed in a northward direction, scientists research indicated that a sudden gust of wind from a nearby hurricane may carry the sneeze at an alarming rate over the upper states, possibly infecting and causing the spread of crazy ass panic syndrome once more. Government officials suggest closing your windows and doors until the wave of stupid passes by; and everything returns to normal just in time for it to start again. Economists have factored in the costs for this current crisis; and estimate the damage toll at massive income for tissue manufacturers and alcoholic hand gel wash producers.

*applauds*

This pretty much says it all.

[Alondro]

Well, I did note that the 'Doom flu' was mainly hype, if you recall.  I didn't even bother getting vaccinated.  I got the flu, fought it off at home, and was done with it.  It was a risk mainly for people who already had an illness that affected immune/inflammatory responses, such as diabetes or CVD, or who were going to be near people with compromised immune systems.  There were some elevated cases of cytokine syndrome and death in healthy people compared to previous seasons, but only a tiny fraction of what was feared.

In fact, a good number of the deaths were in fact from secondary infections by resistant bacteria.  It was such an infection that killed my good friend Wolfie when it seemed he was recovering from the flu.

Antibiotic resistant bacteria ARE a real concern.  Deaths from hospital-acquired antibiotic-resistant bacteria are the fastest-rising cause of death in hospitals.

This particular gene, when it eventually does make it into the already dangerous bacterial species, will make those bacteria resistant to everything we have.

One of the new deadly strains has emerged from the species Acinetobacter baumannii.  It is being found in many cases of sepsis and necrotizing fascitis in Europe.

It is noted that the only two antibiotics with efficacy against this strain are one older antibiotic (colistin) and a single newer one (tigecycline).

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20581674
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20583528
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20583477
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20578551

This isn't sensationalism, this is hard science fact.

It should be noted that Gram-negative cocci are resistant to colistin.  And neither Pseudomonas nor Proteus species bacteria are affected by tigecycline.  Thus, should their strains cross plasmids with with Acinetobacter or one of the other multi-drug resistant bacteria, a truly total-resistance germ would emerge.  This is not an 'if', it is a 'when'.  Bacterial species and strains exchange plasmids all the time, and all of these infectious agents can be found in many hospitals.  Indeed, the stresses they encounter in a hospital environment would tend to increase the rate of plasmid exchange.  Also increasing the rate of mutation is human travel.  Species and strains that would never have come within a thousand miles of each other previously now can make contact in hours or days.

The emergence of a completely resistant strain of bacteria is pressing reality and could occurr anywhere at any time.

Also, the pace of antibiotic development has slowed tremendously.  We are not keeping up with the pace at which the germs are evolving and sharing resistance genes.

Our bodies are not keeping pace either.  These resistant germs are also proving harder for even healthy individuals to fight.  Cases of small wounds becoming septic with MRSA, Campylobacter, Listeria, and other species gaining resistance are rising as well.

I was victim to this very thing.  Last year, a small ingrown toenail became infected with MRSA and rapidly spread.  Even though I knew almost at once what it was and sought treatment immediately, it swiftly began to enter my bloodstream and made me feel quite ill by the time I had my prescription only a day later.  It took 3 weeks of antibiotics for me to get rid of it at last.  My body could do nothing against it on its own, in spite of my sole health issue being high triglycerides (an inherited condition treated with fenofibrate (Tricor)).

[Alteisentier]

Well you ain't dead yet. So it can't have been that awful.

[Keleth]

I can't tell if Alondro is Serious, Trolling, or RPing.

Then again, I can never tell.

[Reese Tora]

Speaking of MRSA, I heard a news report yesterday about a new material for floors and walls in hospitals that has been developed that has a pH that is hostile to it but won't leach to other things and contaminate them.