By Dr. Mercola
The featured Catalyst documentary, "Antibiotic Resistance," offers a
30-minute-long review of some of the many factors contributing to this
man-made scourge.
Today, people are so used to the idea that an antibiotic can cure just
about any infection; few can even consider the possibility that someday
this remedy may no longer be an option.
Indeed, antibiotics have increased the human lifespan by about a decade,
and certain conditions simply could not be treated without them. Take
organ transplants for example. Without antibiotics, such procedures
become tremendously risky, with a low rate of success.
According to Catalyst, about half of all emergency room admissions are
also related to bacterial infections, and they too would have a poor
rate of recovery without antibiotics.
Even minor surgeries become risky propositions without these
infection-busting drugs. Ditto for everyday infections resulting from
cuts, scrapes or bites.
In many ways, modern medicine as we know it is built around a foundation
of antibiotics, and that foundation is now severely threatened by the
emergence of microbes that are resistant to even our harshest,
last-resort antibiotics.
Prior to antibiotics, half of the world's population died from
infections, and many died during early childhood. This is the reality we
now face yet again, unless we somehow manage to get antibiotic
resistance under control.
Animals and Humans Are Part of a Bacterial Ecosystem
In recent years, researchers have discovered that bacteria and other
microorganisms are far from mere adversaries to be carpet-bombed into
oblivion. Instead, microorganisms are part and parcel of us — we exist as part of a bacterial ecosystem and, in fact, many of our biological processes rely on them.
Even pathogenic bacteria that can cause severe disease only really
become a threat to health when they're allowed to crowd out other, more
beneficial bacteria that naturally help keep the pathogens in check.
Even certain viruses play an important and supportive role in human
health.
Part of the drug resistance problem we're now facing as a result of decades' worth of antibiotic misuse
is the fact that bacteria are incredibly adaptable. Unless they're
completely wiped out, the surviving stragglers pass on their resistance
to other bacteria.
Another piece of the puzzle is bacteria's ability to share genetic
material outside of the procreative process. Scientists recently
discovered a bacterial gene (called mcr-1) that can spread among
different bacteria with remarkable ease, conferring resistance to the
strongest antibiotics in our medical arsenal.
This is a scenario that many have feared might happen, and now there's
no escaping its reality. Less than a year after the mcr-1 gene was first
discovered in pigs and people in China,1,2,3 it has now been identified in the U.S., both in pork samples and a patient being treated for E.coli infection.4,5
How Bacteria Share Genetic Material
All that's required for bacteria to share genetic material, delivered in little packages called plasmids, is proximity. If they're close enough, the plasmid can rapidly transfer between the various bacteria bumping against each other.
As explained in the film, if humans had this kind of gene-sharing
ability, you'd be able to change the color of your eyes from blue to
brown simply by standing next to a brown-eyed person. For bacteria, this
ability means they can spread drug resistance to other bacteria at
"astonishing speeds."
Unfortunately, scientists drastically underestimated the speed at which
resistance can spread, and now we're faced with a far shorter deadline,
in terms of "the end of antibiotics" in medicine, than previously
expected.
To give you an idea of just how quickly resistance is now spreading,
consider this: a brand new antibiotic was introduced in 2010. The very
next year, resistant bacteria were detected.
Antibiotics Are Overused in Human Medicine
Overuse of antibiotics in human medicine is one contributing factor to
rising drug resistance among bacteria. In Australia, antibiotics are
prescribed at a rate of more than one prescription for every man, woman
and child each year. The situation is similar in many other developed
nations.
According to Dr. Arjun Srinivasan, associate director of the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as much as half of all
antibiotics used in American clinics and hospitals "are either unneeded
or patients are getting the wrong drugs to treat their infections."6
Lack of education is part of the problem. More than 40 percent of
Americans and an astonishing 65 percent of Australians still believe
antibiotics can treat viral infections.7 Many patients also insist on taking an antibiotic "just in case" — a strategy that is highly inadvisable.
Antibiotics have both short- and long-term effects on the composition
and health of the microbes in your gut, and your microbiome plays a
crucial role in your overall immune function and general health. You
really don't want to decimate your microbiome with an antibiotic unless absolutely necessary.
Children treated with antibiotics also raise their risk of developing
health problems in adulthood, including making them more susceptible to
infectious diseases, allergies, obesity and autoimmune disorders as they
grow older.8,9
Doctors are not without blame though. Forty-five percent of British
doctors admit prescribing antibiotics even when they know it won't do
any good.10
Antibiotic Use in Food Production Must Be Curbed
According to the CDC,11 there are 12 antibiotic-resistant pathogens that pose a "serious" threat to public health, and one-third of them are found in food. The four drug-resistant pathogens in question are:
Campylobacter
Salmonella
E. coli
Shigella
While livestock sometimes need antibiotics to cure an infection, concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) routinely use antibiotics to speed up growth and counteract poor hygiene and crowded living conditions.
In
the U.S., an estimated 80 percent of antibiotics sold end up in
livestock. In Australia, approximately 70 percent of all antibiotics are
used in agriculture.
As noted in the film, industrialized factory farming owes its success to
the routine use of antibiotics. However, we're now paying an
unexpectedly heavy price for this convenient way of raising cheap food,
as agricultural use of antibiotics is feeding and speeding up the spread
of drug-resistant bacteria that kill an estimated 23,000 Americans each
year.
Antibiotic Resistance Spreads Via Multiple Routes
Drug-resistant bacteria also accumulate in CAFO manure that is then
spread on fields and enters waterways, allowing the drug-resistant
bacteria to spread far and wide and ultimately back up the food chain to
your dinner plate. You can see how easily antibiotic resistance
spreads, via the food you eat and community contact, in the CDC's
infographic below. Source: CDC.gov, Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2013
Phage Therapy Explored as an Alternative to Antibiotics
A type of virus called a bacteriophage, or simply "phage," is a
natural predator of bacteria, capable of killing bacteria that
antibiotics cannot. In fact for every bacteria in your intestine there
are about 10 phages. Wherever bacteria reside, you will also find
phages, because phages depend on bacteria for their survival. Evidence
suggests that phages partner with animals and humans to stave off
bacterial infections and control the composition of friendly microbes in
your body.
So-called phage therapy
is now being explored as a potential alternative to conventional
antibiotics. As noted in the film, if a patient can be safely infected
with the right phage, it could be a therapy to beat antibiotic
resistance.
Phages specialize in breaking open and killing certain kinds of
bacteria, hijacking them in order to replicate. Most phages have hollow
heads, which store their DNA and RNA, and tunnel tails designed for
binding to the surface of their bacterial targets. Once a phage has
attached itself to a bacterium, the viral DNA is injected through the
tail into the host cell.
Progeny are rapidly produced inside the host, until these little phages
burst from the host cell, killing it in the process. These phages then
go on to infect and kill more target bacteria until all bacteria have
been consumed. What makes phages unique is that they cannot affect any
cell other than bacteria, so they offer great hope as a targeted therapy
against bacterial infections.
Another experimental type of treatment involves removing the
drug-resistant gene package (the plasmid) from the bacteria, using a
genetically engineered bacterium. Animal studies show that mice infected
with drug-resistant bacteria that are given this treatment end up
responding to the conventional antibiotics again. Scientists believe
this kind of tool may allow them to develop treatments against bacterial
infections that won't promote resistance in the process.
How You Can Help Stop the Spread of Antibiotic-Resistant Disease
In light of the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant disease, it
would be wise to employ techniques and strategies that will not only
reduce your own risk of falling victim, but also help curtail the spread
of antibiotic resistance in general. While the problem of antibiotic
resistance really needs to be stemmed through public policy on a
nationwide level, the more people who get involved on a personal level,
the better. Such strategies include:
Using antibiotics only when absolutely necessary
For example, antibiotics are typically unnecessary for most ear infections,
and they do NOT work on viruses. They only work on bacterial
infections, and even then, they're best reserved for more serious
infections.
Taking an antibiotic unnecessarily will kill off your
beneficial gut bacteria for no reason at all, which could actually make
it more difficult for you to recover from your illness. If you do take a
course of antibiotics, be sure to reseed your gut with healthy
bacteria, either by eating fermented foods or taking a high-quality
probiotic.
As an all-around preventive measure, make sure your vitamin D level
is optimized year-round, especially during pregnancy, along with
vitamin K2. A number of other natural compounds can also help boost your
immune system function to help rid you of an infection, including vitamin C, oil of oregano, garlic, Echinacea and tea tree oil.
High-quality colloidal silver
may be a valuable addition to your medicine cabinet to treat cuts and
scrapes in lieu of antibacterial creams. Colloidal silver has been
regarded as an effective natural antibiotic for centuries, and research
shows it can even be helpful against some antibiotic-resistant
pathogens.12,13,14 Manuka honey
can also be used for topical applications. Clinical trials have found
that Manuka honey can effectively eradicate more than 250 clinical
strains of bacteria, including some resistant varieties, such as MRSA.
Avoiding antibacterial household products
This includes items such as antibacterial soaps, hand sanitizers and wipes, as these too promote antibiotic resistance.
Properly washing your hands with warm water and plain soap, to prevent the spreading of bacteria
Be particularly mindful of washing your hands and kitchen surfaces after handling raw meats,
as about half of all meat sold in grocery stores around the U.S. is
likely to be contaminated with potentially dangerous bacteria.
Purchasing organic, antibiotic-free meats and other foods
Reducing
the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a significant reason for
making sure you're only eating grass-fed, organically raised meats and
animal products. Besides growing and raising your own, buying your food
from responsible, high-quality, and sustainable sources is your best bet, and I strongly encourage you to support the small family farms in your area.
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