New Viruses Resistant to Antibiotics!

In April, 2009, schools and public gathering places in Mexico City as well as all of Mexico’s tourist locations were closed due to thousands of people ill and death rates rising from a hybrid form of “swine flu” mixed with bird flu and human flu.  The fear was that the mutated H1N1 virus might spread internationally and cause deaths world-wide. 

Within days cases were reported as far afield as the U.S.A., Australia and England.  There were no vaccines available for the general populace; any effective antibiotics thought to be effective were reserved for health-workers and security forces.  Flights into Mexico were cancelled and the country’s economy ground to a standstill for several weeks.  Even so, the virus is spreading around the planet with the World Health Organization declaring a "pandemic" alert.  It’s believed that one third of the World’s population will be affected and The White House has estimated that an estimated 300,000 nut as much as 150 million may become infected and from to 90,000 to 150,000 Americans may die from it.

As winter approaches in either hemisphere, health authorities are scrambling to come up with a vaccine that “might” work.    The only vaccine developed as of October, 2009 has proven to have serious side-effects and the British Health Protection Agency (BHPA) has warned all physicians to be alert to the potential symptoms.  A survey among doctors and nurses revealed that at least 50% of them would not accept the vaccine because of the possibility of serious side-effects.  Already, with 20,000 confirmed Swine 'flu infections, more than 1,000 Americans have died but during the 1976 pandemic more people died from the side-effects than from the 'flu itself. 

                Due to the over-use of antibiotics, certain bacteria have developed the ability to produce enzymes classified as Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamases (ESBLs) which make them resistant to antibiotics.  Other than the H1N1, the most deadly strain is the Klebsiella virus and at this point in time there is nothing in the human immune-system’s arsenal nor in the doctor’s office that can defeat Klebsiella.

            It is postulated that the over-use of antibiotics in pig farming is causing the H1N1 virus to mutate and develop resistance.  It’s certainly killing swine and the incidence of human infection has risen by more than 50% since the turn of the 21^st Century.  All research points to pigs as being the medium of transmission of the antibiotic-resistant Klebsiella virus as well with the possibility that pork products are helping to disseminate the antibiotic more widely into humans.

     
     But even though pigs, pork and antibiotic abuse have been incriminated, a 2006 study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases found that bacteria sampled from people who ate factory-farmed chicken had become resistant to Synercid, the new, stronger antibiotic which was developed to treat antibiotic-resistant bacteria.  In essence, there are now strains of bacteria that are resistant to the last lines of defense currently available in the modern medicine cabinet.

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The first ESBLs were discovered in the Klebsiella species of bacteria in hospital intensive care units during the mid-1980s.  Infected patients were few and far between and the mutated bacteria didn’t seem to be a major concern.  However, a new class of ESBLs (called CTX-M enzymes) has emerged and is now being widely detected among E. coli bacteria.  These ESBL-producing E. coli are becoming more frequent in urinary tract infections and are resistant to penicillins and cephalosporins. 

            According to the British Health Protection Agency (BHPA), other species of bacteria that can now produce ESBLs include:

K. pneumoniae

K. oxytoca

Salmonella

Proteus mirabilis

Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Antibiotic-resistant disease is a major, man-made problem.  A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in October 2007, revealed that there were close to 100,000 cases of invasive methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections in the United States in 2005, which led to more than 18,600 deaths.  To put that number into perspective HIV/AIDS killed 17,000 people that same year.

With the problem now appearing in schools and with no sure cure available, the focus is on prevention ‒ proper hygiene, such as regularly washing the hands with soap and water to reduce the spread of infectious disease, seeking immediate treatment at the first sign of symptoms and in the long run, stopping the medical over-use of antibiotics.

The ramifications of the abuse of antibiotics in agriculture are too serious to ignore.  Antibiotics filter down through the food chain in a sinister fashion.  A 2007 study reported in the Journal of Environmental Quality looked at whether food crops might accumulate antibiotics from soil fertilized with manure that contains antibiotics residue.  In a greenhouse setting, corn, lettuce and potatoes were grown in soil that contained pig manure with a commonly-used veterinary antibiotic added.

 
           The antibiotics were absorbed by both the leaves and the tissue of all three crops suggesting that root crops such as carrots, radishes and potatoes may be particularly at risk of antibiotic accumulation.  These findings have serious implications for organic farmers, who often use animal manure as their only source of fertilizer.  Sadly, the use of manure that contains antibiotics is still allowed under the organic labeling requirements.

After a doctor-prescribed course of antibiotics, the beneficial flora which normally resides in your intestinal tract will have been killed.  Without them, your digestive system cannot function effectively.  And, if the food you eat has been tainted with antibiotics you are even more at risk!  You need to re-populate your gut with new flora (such as “Latero-Flora”) which will help the friendly bacteria to proliferate. 

           So, what must we do to protect ourselves and our families from those potentially deadly, invading bacterium?  Apart from growing food yourself, your best option is to get to know a local farmer near you – one who uses non-toxic farming methods, or find superior supplier. 

Even if you live in the heart of a city, there are increasing numbers of community-supported agriculture programs that give you access to healthy, locally grown foods.  It’s a little more difficult to find a safer alternative to commercially raised beef and poultry.  However, grass-fed cattle and free-range chickens are not routinely fed antibiotics and even when antibiotics do become necessary to treat a rare infection, they’re only used for a few days.  For an excellent source of grass-fed beef  CLICK

          But, with 'flu season approaching in one hemisphere or the other, what should we do?  As mentioned  earlier in this report, there are serious doubts about the safety of the new vaccines.  During the last pandemic it seems more people died from the vaccine's side-effects than from the virus itself, so there are two obvious choices to consider:

           1.     Even with the vaccine there's no guarantee of immunity so you might still get the 'flu which might not kill you but you might die from the vaccine's side-effects;

 
     2.     Without the vaccine you might get the 'flu and recover but you definitely won't die from the side-effects.

           So, for my money, build up your immune system with a healthy diet and daily moderate exercise, take care around people with 'flu-like symptoms, wash your hands regularly and don't live a stress-filled life.  

           For an excellent, on-line source for whole-foods and organic foods CLICK.        

          And, if you’d like to start undoing the negative health-effects you may have already suffered, CLICK for a free preview of the first chapter of “The One Minute Cure” which delves more deeply into the role oxygen plays in disease-prevention and cure.

The Global Healing Center offers “Latero-Flora” − probably the easiest way to reactivate a struggling digestive system.

              


                     This eReport is taken from  "Eat Your Way Back to Better Health" 

 
            
For an insightful report on fats, oils and  cholesterol:  CLICK