4 ms·

Any recommendations on what an individual could do to help? Organizations to donate to? Challenges that could be tackled by a startup? Promising companies to co

Any recommendations on what an individual could do to help? Organizations to donate to? Challenges that could be tackled by a startup? Promising companies to consider investing in? Also, can anybody explain why the CDC doesn’t mandate reporting?

aaronbrethorst 7y ago
Call your members of congress and demand that they ask the CDC that question.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
DoreenMichele 7y ago
I'm having trouble figuring out how to reply to the way you are framing the problem space. There are several Einstein quotes along the lines of "A problem cannot be solved using the same thinking that created it." The problem of antibiotic resistance won't be solved with the same mindset that got us here. One thing contributing to the rise of antibiotic resistance is poor santitation in developing countries. Another is poverty. There is also research into how to break up biofilm and thereby reverse antibiotic resistance. It points to issues with body chemistry which can basically be tied to diet. I think there are clearly avenues we can pursue, but most people are extremely dismissive of those avenues. So they simply aren't being pursued in earnest.
- benj111 7y ago
  "One thing contributing to the rise of antibiotic resistance is poor santitation in developing countries. Another is poverty." I assume this is why you were getting downvotes? I was going to too, but it does actually check out. https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/antibiotic-abuse-in-developing-countries-2167-7689.1000e106.php?aid=6039 https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/antibiotic-abuse-in-...
  - DoreenMichele 7y ago
    The very article we are discussing talks about a man getting an antibiotic resistant infection in Egypt, then being flown to Germany and eventually the US with the infection still unresolved. It terms it "Iraqibacter" and gives a brief origin of this class of microbes as starting in the Middle East and being exported to Europe and America. So if that line you quoted is getting me downvotes, then everyone downvoting me has failed basic reading comprehension. I have read other things that state more directly that we breed antibiotic resistant infections in less developed countries, no reading between the lines required. But I have also read up on research into stunting. It has pertinent findings about lack of sanitation fostering low grade chronic infections that basically cause failure to thrive that isn't readily resolvable because the problem isn't rooted in the individual. It is rooted in the lack of sanitation of a larger area. Sources: The right gut microbes help infants grow http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/02/right-gut-microbes-help-infants-grow http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/02/right-gut-microbes-he... What causes stunting? https://borgenproject.org/what-causes-stunting/ https://borgenproject.org/what-causes-stunting/ Beyond Malnutrition: The Role of Sanitation in Stunted Growth https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/ehp.122-A298 https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/ehp.122-A298 Pertinent quotes from that last article: In countries such as India, for instance, stunting occurs even among well-fed children, and that’s led investigators to consider other causes, especially poor sanitation and hygiene. Evidence shows that children who live without adequate sanitation, hygiene, and clean drinking water don’t grow as well as children who do. In somewhat newer thinking, researchers are exploring the possibility that poor hygiene and a lack of sanitation induce a gut disorder called environmental enteropathy (EE) that diverts energy from growth toward an ongoing fight against subclinical infection.
    - benj111 7y ago
      The quoted comment could read as just blaming poorer people etc, which is how I read it at first, after further digging the comment seems justified. Reading your comment I can't see another reason for the downvote, and antibiotic resistance being more common in developing nations wasn't something I was that aware of, so I was confirming to others you aren't being racist or anything. Maybe they should have done their own research? I don't know. The sample size of one in the article by itself doesn't justify the sweeping statement you made. Ultimately and unfortunately people will say unsubstantiated and unpleasant things and some reasonable comments get caught in people's 'spam filter'.
ars 7y ago
Pressure large meat companies to not buy from farms that use routine antibiotics. That's probably the biggest practical thing. It worked for hormones (do you see much BST cow milk)? The next thing is convincing India to stop handing out antibiotics like candy, but that's not something an individual can do.
lkrubner 7y ago
90% of all antibiotics are used in agricultural and the CDC has no jurisdiction over agriculture.
- riffraff 7y ago
  that's unrelated to why they don't enforce reporting of all antibiotic-resisting cases.
Fomite 7y ago
"Also, can anybody explain why the CDC doesn’t mandate reporting?" Because a great deal of this is done at the state level. Working on these kind of problems, there's a very difficult balance of reporting requirements, agreed upon definitions (especially not just what you have but where you got it), various stakeholders, etc. And the CDC collects a lot of data even if things are universally reportable. And there's a lot of ongoing improvement.
blago 7y ago
Antibiotic company stocks have been decimated in the last couple of years so if you feel adventurous and prepared to lose your savings, this is a great time to buy.
- WoodenChair 7y ago
  What are some example companies/symbols?
  - blago 7y ago
    NASDAQ: MLNT OTCMKTS: AKAOQ Read here for more info: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-03/antibiotics-aren-t-profitable-enough-for-big-pharma-to-make-more https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-03/antibioti...

aaronbrethorst 7y ago

Call your members of congress and demand that they ask the CDC that question.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

DoreenMichele 7y ago

I'm having trouble figuring out how to reply to the way you are framing the problem space. There are several Einstein quotes along the lines of "A problem cannot be solved using the same thinking that created it." The problem of antibiotic resistance won't be solved with the same mindset that got us here. One thing contributing to the rise of antibiotic resistance is poor santitation in developing countries. Another is poverty. There is also research into how to break up biofilm and thereby reverse antibiotic resistance. It points to issues with body chemistry which can basically be tied to diet. I think there are clearly avenues we can pursue, but most people are extremely dismissive of those avenues. So they simply aren't being pursued in earnest.

benj111 7y ago
"One thing contributing to the rise of antibiotic resistance is poor santitation in developing countries. Another is poverty." I assume this is why you were getting downvotes? I was going to too, but it does actually check out. https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/antibiotic-abuse-in-developing-countries-2167-7689.1000e106.php?aid=6039 https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/antibiotic-abuse-in-...
- DoreenMichele 7y ago
  The very article we are discussing talks about a man getting an antibiotic resistant infection in Egypt, then being flown to Germany and eventually the US with the infection still unresolved. It terms it "Iraqibacter" and gives a brief origin of this class of microbes as starting in the Middle East and being exported to Europe and America. So if that line you quoted is getting me downvotes, then everyone downvoting me has failed basic reading comprehension. I have read other things that state more directly that we breed antibiotic resistant infections in less developed countries, no reading between the lines required. But I have also read up on research into stunting. It has pertinent findings about lack of sanitation fostering low grade chronic infections that basically cause failure to thrive that isn't readily resolvable because the problem isn't rooted in the individual. It is rooted in the lack of sanitation of a larger area. Sources: The right gut microbes help infants grow http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/02/right-gut-microbes-help-infants-grow http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/02/right-gut-microbes-he... What causes stunting? https://borgenproject.org/what-causes-stunting/ https://borgenproject.org/what-causes-stunting/ Beyond Malnutrition: The Role of Sanitation in Stunted Growth https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/ehp.122-A298 https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/ehp.122-A298 Pertinent quotes from that last article: In countries such as India, for instance, stunting occurs even among well-fed children, and that’s led investigators to consider other causes, especially poor sanitation and hygiene. Evidence shows that children who live without adequate sanitation, hygiene, and clean drinking water don’t grow as well as children who do. In somewhat newer thinking, researchers are exploring the possibility that poor hygiene and a lack of sanitation induce a gut disorder called environmental enteropathy (EE) that diverts energy from growth toward an ongoing fight against subclinical infection.
  - benj111 7y ago
    The quoted comment could read as just blaming poorer people etc, which is how I read it at first, after further digging the comment seems justified. Reading your comment I can't see another reason for the downvote, and antibiotic resistance being more common in developing nations wasn't something I was that aware of, so I was confirming to others you aren't being racist or anything. Maybe they should have done their own research? I don't know. The sample size of one in the article by itself doesn't justify the sweeping statement you made. Ultimately and unfortunately people will say unsubstantiated and unpleasant things and some reasonable comments get caught in people's 'spam filter'.

ars 7y ago

Pressure large meat companies to not buy from farms that use routine antibiotics. That's probably the biggest practical thing. It worked for hormones (do you see much BST cow milk)? The next thing is convincing India to stop handing out antibiotics like candy, but that's not something an individual can do.

lkrubner 7y ago

90% of all antibiotics are used in agricultural and the CDC has no jurisdiction over agriculture.

riffraff 7y ago
that's unrelated to why they don't enforce reporting of all antibiotic-resisting cases.

Fomite 7y ago

"Also, can anybody explain why the CDC doesn’t mandate reporting?" Because a great deal of this is done at the state level. Working on these kind of problems, there's a very difficult balance of reporting requirements, agreed upon definitions (especially not just what you have but where you got it), various stakeholders, etc. And the CDC collects a lot of data even if things are universally reportable. And there's a lot of ongoing improvement.

blago 7y ago

Antibiotic company stocks have been decimated in the last couple of years so if you feel adventurous and prepared to lose your savings, this is a great time to buy.

WoodenChair 7y ago
What are some example companies/symbols?
- blago 7y ago
  NASDAQ: MLNT OTCMKTS: AKAOQ Read here for more info: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-03/antibiotics-aren-t-profitable-enough-for-big-pharma-to-make-more https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-03/antibioti...