Antibiotics: Use And Abuse

Science, as well as all of mankind for that matter, is engaged in a relentless battle against bacteria. On the surface, it would seem that the human side has the advantage. Billions of dollars are available for research, and some of the best

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Science, as well as all of mankind for that matter, is engaged in a relentless battle against bacteria. On the surface, it would seem that the human side has the advantage. Billions of dollars are available for research, and some of the best minds in the world are engaged in the fight against these tiny creatures that are visible only under a microscope. Yet, the tide of battle swings back and forth. Just when it seems that science has gained the upper hand with powerful new antibiotics, the sly bacteria create new defenses.


A case in point is found in human medicine: The science journal Nature recently published an article stating that an international team of scientists has reported that bacteria responsible for pneumonia, blood poisoning, and meningitis have become tolerant to what had been considered the antibiotic of last resort. The scientists state that Streptococcus pneumoniae, a germ common in the community and risky for children and the elderly, has genetically mutated into strains that no longer die when exposed to vancomycin, one of medicine’s most powerful antibiotics.


The article states that researchers from the United States and Sweden have confirmed the alarming development both in the lab and in cases involving three children and one adult, raising the specter of more chronic and fatal infections for ailments once thought to be curable. The researchers say that the bacteria’s tolerance to vancomycin is a precursor to Strep pneumoniae’s becoming completely resistant, meaning no drug would be able to stop it from reproducing.


Thus, they say, Strep pneumoniae has joined the ranks of bacteria that have learned to outwit the antibiotics that once killed them

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Les Sellnow was a prolific freelance writer based near Riverton, Wyoming. He specialized in articles on equine research, and operated a ranch where he raised horses and livestock. He authored several fiction and nonfiction books, including Understanding Equine Lameness and Understanding The Young Horse. He died in 2023.

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