Superbug Epidemic in US - Now Threatening Canada

The superbug is epidemic in US locker rooms and daycares - and it's crossing the border into Canada without a passport. This particular superbug is a bacteria called community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA). Symptoms include large boil-like infections and in 'rare' cases, hemorrhagic pneumonia or flesh-eating disease. "The minute we saw that it was starting in the States, we knew at one point it was going to go through the border," says Cristine Besson, "Bacteria are more dangerous than terrorists."





The Canadian Medical Association Journal just published new guidelines for health-care workers, meant to prevent and manage outbreaks.

In Canada, outbreaks already have occurred in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, with infections reported in Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City. Canada has had two CA-MRSA related fatalities, resulting from necrotizing pneumonia, or lung abscesses.

As Besson says, "Bacteria are more dangerous than terrorists."



Related News Links:
www.slate.com
www.cbc.ca
www.cbc.ca

Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
Beyond Bird Flu: The Perfect Microbial Storm
Superbug Germ kills 3 in Chicago
New Superbug confounds doctors
www.belowtopsecret.com...

Interesting - ATS has been covering this looming epidemic for years.

FYI - Coverage of the Chicago epidemic of CA-MRSA that hit the news in April, 2005 is revealing:

Doctors fear epidemic of superbug that hits the healthy

"It's very clear we are in the middle of an MRSA epidemic now," said Daum (a professor of pediatrics at Chicago's Children's Hospital).

These children weren't weakened by other diseases, they were healthy.

"The overprescription of antibiotics, and the use of antibiotics in animal feed, and use of antibiotics in all the cleaning products have created an environment whereby the weaker bacteria are dying off, leaving the stronger bacteria to be even stronger," (public health consultant Everly) said.

Also of interest:

Why is the CDC Neutralizing UNEX Project?

Superbugs and Superflu

Large boil-like infections, hemorrhagic pneumonia, or flesh-eating disease.

That is some scary stuff. This is the first I've heard of it, and I honestly wish it were the last. If this does cross the border, hopefully we can contain or prevent it, as much as possible, before it becomes a pandemic in our country.

Scary indeed.

I personally know 3 people who got infected - and I'm a shut-in!

All were leg infections - and started with miniscule scratches - and all became life threatening. One, a woman, nearly lost her leg but they opted for stripping the flesh and going with grafts - she was in a coma for 2 weeks. One, a truck driver, was on antibiotic cocktails for over a year.

...I have a daughter who's into piercing - and this stuff freaks me right out.

I want the information ALL over the news, so she and others understand the risks. They need to know - and they need to know it's not just some stupid conspiracy theory. It's real.

On a related note, up here in the northeast we're seeing a disturbingly high number of meningitis cases that have their etiology in mycoplasma bacteria. It's usually a very rare occurance but we've seen 3 confirmed cases in RI (including 1 death) and 1 death in NH all within the last several days. The CDC is on the scene interviewing teachers, family, etc.


[edit on 4-1-2007 by jtma508]

Originally posted by jtma508

On a related note, ...meingitis cases that have their etiology in mycoplasma bacteria.

...we've seen 3 confirmed cases in RI (including 1 death) and 1 death in NH all within the last several days. The CDC is on the scene interviewing teachers, family, etc.

There are so many outbreaks, mini-epidemics and epidemics right now it's impossible to keep track of them all.

We are not being fully or properly informed - for purely political reasons. Grrr.

But things will get start to get very interesting when ca-MRSA hooks up with E. coli and maybe this mycoplasma. Add a pinch of flu and just watch...

Remember that old story about Hans(?) saving Holland by keeping his finger in a hole in the dike?

I'm thinking that's how our health authorities feel right now. ...And the dike is gonna give.

BUT

Don't be scared; be prepared.

...and don't be afraid to educate yourself. Nobody else is gonna do it for you.

I recommend increased education in herbal and alternative treatments for infection. There are far too many cases of people curing themselves of serious illness even AIDS and many forms of cancer using "unorthodox" medicine to be ignored. Even simple honey can kill antibiotic resistant bugs.

My father and I have both been battling a nasty cold we picked up from my nieces on Christmas. It landed him in bed for several days while I experienced a less severe infection. I believe the difference is because I take daily high dosage vitamin C (a few thousand mg) and echinacea supplements, along with a cocktail of antioxidants known for boosting immunity. When I feel a bug creeping in I up the doses.

A few thousand years worth of proven herbal medicine can do wonders in our modern day pharmaceutical dependent society.

[edit on 4-1-2007 by apc]

keep a bag of celtic sea salt or himalayan crystal salt around. alot of bacteria and virii are suckers for simple, unadulterated salt.

does anyone have the gear (minimal) and willingness to conduct a little experiment which could yield a workable 'phage culture for use on these sores?

i mean all you need to do is cultivate the stuff (pathogen) in vitro and add various nasty +'**S to a series of samples, if the sample dies it might just be a bacteriophage...

of course, proper containment and handling are a MUST.


if time is of essence, you could still try ionic ozone in a bag (preferably without nitric oxide as a byproduct, which so many generators produce), i mean it can't really get worse, can it? (that should convince even people who believe the FDA )

PS: over-reliance on antibiotics, hmmm, feeding kilotons of antibiotics to cattle had nothing to do with the emergence of resistancies but anyone who warns aganst the industry's madness is considered a doomsayer.

Great stuff guys.

Anybody have a recipe for a topical ointment that uses both salt and honey?

Good Post, soficrow... I know we have our issues on other threads, but is a great find!

Hospitals, unfortunately have become automated genetic engineering facilities of a sort. The combination of antibiotic usage, sick people, and a closed space is the perfect environment for three traits to become rapidly transferred: 1)antibiotic resistance genes, 2)Virulence gene, 3) and "community acquisition" genes.

The first two transfers are more-or-less firmly entrenched. Bacteria have been swapping
antibiotic resistance genes for decades now. It used to be that these resistant strains would be outcompeted by other strains once antibiotic usage stopped. Not so anymore.

Additionally, the most resistant strains in the past have been largely opportunistic, and not very virulent. All of this has changed in the past decade or so, in that resistant varieties are also acquiring genes for increased virulence. IOW, the resistant strains are no longer just opportunists, but are primary sources of infection.

Finally, people who were relatively healthy in the past weren't in too much danger, due to the opportunistic and nosocomial natures of resistant organisms. The fact that these genes for resistance and virulence are now being picked up in the community is scary indeed. Honestly, I cringe when I hear someone cough or sneeze around me, and I pretty much can't handle eating food I didn't prepare myself.

does anyone have the gear (minimal) and willingness to conduct a little experiment which could yield a workable 'phage culture for use on these sores?

i mean all you need to do is cultivate the stuff (pathogen) in vitro and add various nasty +'**S to a series of samples, if the sample dies it might just be a bacteriophage...

Technically... I have the resources... my boss, and the tech that work in our lab wouldn't want me handling sewage in our hood though. Come to think of it, I don't want to handle sewage in our hood... or really anywhere for that matter.

We actually did trials with phages on tomatoes this summer. They didn't work as well as I had hoped, and honestly the process is tricky.. you've got to continously update the phages you're using in response to the changing population. In a 5 month growing season, I think we used 12 different phage formulations.

I think phage therapy holds a lot of promise, but won't be available for human use for sometime.

Great stuff guys.

Anybody have a recipe for a topical ointment that uses both salt and honey?

Not sea salt, but honey itself has antibacterial properties for the same reason that salt does... osmotic potential. Indeed, I have a friend who's a physician.... did some work for some time in S. Africa on a mission.... one of the preferred treatments for bedsores in the bush hospital he worked at was applying honey to the wound... I would imagine the honey wasn't raw, but it was nonetheless... standard honey that they in fact purchased at the local market. According to him, the honey was more effective at curing bed sores than anything modern he'd seen attempted.

Agreed. I mentioned this in one of the survival threads, but honey is just all around awesome. It releases a very low level of hydrogen peroxide. Low enough to not cause tissue damage, but high enough to kill even resistant bugs. The more dilute with water the honey is, the more potent.

I don't know if you'd call it an ointment but whenever I get a cut I mix up a 40/60 batch of honey/water and drip it onto the wound. I then soak the sterile pad of a bandage and apply to the wound as normal. Open/pitted wounds should be packed with the solution and then bandaged, creating a honey "blister" on the wound.

I've done a comparison test on myself by cutting my arm three times parallel. The first cut I applied my honey mixture. The second an OTC antibiotic ointment. The third I left untreated. The honey cut healed first, followed by the antibiotic and last was untreated.

Originally posted by apc
Agreed. I mentioned this in one of the survival threads, but honey is just all around awesome. It releases a very low level of hydrogen peroxide. Low enough to not cause tissue damage, but high enough to kill even resistant bugs. The more dilute with water the honey is, the more potent.

I've not heard of the H2O2 angle. Got a ref?

I don't know if you'd call it an ointment but whenever I get a cut I mix up a 40/60 batch of honey/water and drip it onto the wound. I then soak the sterile pad of a bandage and apply to the wound as normal. Open/pitted wounds should be packed with the solution and then bandaged, creating a honey "blister" on the wound.

Any precedent for this dilution? I'm curious because one of the things that makes honey antibacterial is the osmotic potential... that is it's such a concentrated sugar, that it draws moisture from the bacteria. Diluting honey with that much water will lower the osmotic potential.

Additionally... a 40/60 dilution of honey/water is less concentrated than a buddy of mine uses for making Mead. He uses 50/50 honey water, and it supports the growth of yeast quite nicely... I would imagine the 40/60 dilution would support bacterial growth equally well, if not better.

I've done a comparison test on myself by cutting my arm three times parallel. The first cut I applied my honey mixture. The second an OTC antibiotic ointment. The third I left untreated. The honey cut healed first, followed by the antibiotic and last was untreated.

Were you using the 40/60 dilution, and if so... why did you pick that ratio?

That's not an exact figure... I just use a little more water than honey.

en.wikipedia.org...

Hydrogen peroxide in honey is activated by dilution. However, unlike medical hydrogen peroxide, commonly 3% by volume, it is present in a concentration of only 1 mmol/l in honey. Iron in honey oxidizes the oxygen free radicals released by the hydrogen peroxide.

glucose + H2O + O2 → gluconic acid + H2O2
When used topically (as, for example, a wound dressing), hydrogen peroxide is produced by dilution with body fluids. As a result, hydrogen peroxide is released slowly and acts as an antiseptic. Unlike 3% medical hydrogen peroxide, this slow release does not cause damage to surrounding tissue.

Apologies for using a Wiki source, but it was the easiest to reference rapidly.

Originally posted by apc
That's not an exact figure... I just use a little more water than honey.

en.wikipedia.org...

Hydrogen peroxide in honey is activated by dilution. However, unlike medical hydrogen peroxide, commonly 3% by volume, it is present in a concentration of only 1 mmol/l in honey. Iron in honey oxidizes the oxygen free radicals released by the hydrogen peroxide.

glucose + H2O + O2 → gluconic acid + H2O2
When used topically (as, for example, a wound dressing), hydrogen peroxide is produced by dilution with body fluids. As a result, hydrogen peroxide is released slowly and acts as an antiseptic. Unlike 3% medical hydrogen peroxide, this slow release does not cause damage to surrounding tissue.

Apologies for using a Wiki source, but it was the easiest to reference rapidly.

Well... I'll be G-- D----d. You learn something new everyday, huh? Thanks for the ref.

Originally posted by soficrow
The superbug is epidemic in US locker rooms and daycares - and it's crossing the border into Canada without a passport. This particular superbug is a bacteria called community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA). Symptoms include large boil-like infections and in 'rare' cases, hemorrhagic pneumonia or flesh-eating disease. "The minute we saw that it was starting in the States, we knew at one point it was going to go through the border," says Cristine Besson, "Bacteria are more dangerous than terrorists."

 

www.cbc.ca

A superbug that is popping up in locker rooms and day cares in the U.S. is poised to "emerge in force" in Canada, doctors warn.

The bacteria cause large boil-like infections, and can cause hemorrhagic pneumonia or flesh-eating disease in rare cases.

The organism is an "old foe with new fangs: a pathogen combining virulence, resistance and an ability to disseminate at large," Dr. John Conly, an infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at the University of Calgary and his colleagues wrote.




Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

The Canadian Medical Association Journal just published new guidelines for health-care workers, meant to prevent and manage outbreaks.

In Canada, outbreaks already have occurred in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, with infections reported in Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City. Canada has had two CA-MRSA related fatalities, resulting from necrotizing pneumonia, or lung abscesses.

As Besson says, "Bacteria are more dangerous than terrorists."



Related News Links:
www.slate.com
www.cbc.ca
www.cbc.ca

Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
Beyond Bird Flu: The Perfect Microbial Storm
Superbug Germ kills 3 in Chicago

WHAT TO DO IF YOU GET MRSA -D.I.Y
Started by Dr Ese Callam Posted: June 15, 2006 at 21:24
SOLUTION FOR MRSA INFECTION-

DO-IT-YOURSELF.


WHAT TO DO IF YOU CONTRACT ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANT MRSA.

If you are infected with antibiotic resistant MRSA and wish to save your limb and life after othe methods have failed then the following set of instructions will save your life.
I suggest you save this information as a text file and pass it around.

If a limb has become infected with MRSA and your doctor suggests amputation and if you dont want it amputated then wash the effected limp in warm water and scrub gently away any dead surface skin cells.

While the limb is still wet put it in a thick plastic bag and seal it in with sellotape around the edges so thats its airtight.

Next get a the hose from an ozone generator and make a small hole in the bag and seal it with sellotape to make it airtight.

Then switch on the ozone generator and leave it on from 1 to 4 hours depending on severity of infection.

You can repeat the treatment over a few days for very acute cases.

The ozone gas will kill any MRSA on the skin and transdermal ozone will go through the skin and kill any MRSA inside the limb.

Its a good idea to open the windows while you are ozonating the limp as ozone is not good for the lungs.


If the infection is not in a limb which can be easily wrapped in a plastic bag then do the up to the neck ozone bagging again using sellotape to seal the bag at the neck so its airtight. Use a large thick binliner and stand in it while a friend/relation seals you up.Again open the windows.

But have a warm bath prior to ozone bagging and again to speed things up a gentle scrubbing to remove dead skin before bagging will increase the amount of ozone that can pass through the skin.
The bag will inflate with ozone and it will kill any surface MRSA infections and the transdermal ozone will penetrate the skin and ozonate the blood thus vastly improving it anti-pathogen properties.

The antibacterial and antivirial propertie of ozone gas are are well documented in search engines and its your duty to do the rsearch and then implement the solution as described above.

You will find this saves your limb and life if you are suffering from MRSA infection and are smart enough to think for yourself and to carry out the simple instructions above.

Ozone generators you can find from a search engine like google.They should have an output of at least 200mg/hr

Drinking cold ozonated water will increase the elimination of the MRSA infection even more quickly.

I suggest you all look up medical ozone in google or transdermal ozone or ozone bagging.

THE POINT OF THIS INFORMATION IS TO GET YOU TO DO SOME RESEARCH YOURSELF AND USING THAT INFORMATION TO CURE YOURSELF FROM MRSA INFECTIONS.
4841



[edit on 4-1-2007 by esecallum]

Originally posted by soficrow
The superbug is epidemic in US locker rooms and daycares - and it's crossing the border into Canada without a passport. This particular superbug is a bacteria called community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA). Symptoms include large boil-like infections and in 'rare' cases, hemorrhagic pneumonia or flesh-eating disease. "The minute we saw that it was starting in the States, we knew at one point it was going to go through the border," says Cristine Besson, "Bacteria are more dangerous than terrorists."

 

www.cbc.ca

A superbug that is popping up in locker rooms and day cares in the U.S. is poised to "emerge in force" in Canada, doctors warn.

The bacteria cause large boil-like infections, and can cause hemorrhagic pneumonia or flesh-eating disease in rare cases.

The organism is an "old foe with new fangs: a pathogen combining virulence, resistance and an ability to disseminate at large," Dr. John Conly, an infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at the University of Calgary and his colleagues wrote.




Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

The Canadian Medical Association Journal just published new guidelines for health-care workers, meant to prevent and manage outbreaks.

In Canada, outbreaks already have occurred in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, with infections reported in Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City. Canada has had two CA-MRSA related fatalities, resulting from necrotizing pneumonia, or lung abscesses.

As Besson says, "Bacteria are more dangerous than terrorists."



Related News Links:
www.slate.com
www.cbc.ca
www.cbc.ca

Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
Beyond Bird Flu: The Perfect Microbial Storm
Superbug Germ kills 3 in Chicago
New Superbug confounds doctors
www.belowtopsecret.com...

WHAT TO DO IF YOU GET MRSA -D.I.Y
Started by Dr Ese Callam Posted: June 15, 2006 at 21:24
SOLUTION FOR MRSA INFECTION-

DO-IT-YOURSELF.


WHAT TO DO IF YOU CONTRACT ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANT MRSA.

If you are infected with antibiotic resistant MRSA and wish to save your limb and life after othe methods have failed then the following set of instructions will save your life.
I suggest you save this information as a text file and pass it around.

If a limb has become infected with MRSA and your doctor suggests amputation and if you dont want it amputated then wash the effected limp in warm water and scrub gently away any dead surface skin cells.

While the limb is still wet put it in a thick plastic bag and seal it in with sellotape around the edges so thats its airtight.

Next get a the hose from an ozone generator and make a small hole in the bag and seal it with sellotape to make it airtight.

Then switch on the ozone generator and leave it on from 1 to 4 hours depending on severity of infection.

You can repeat the treatment over a few days for very acute cases.

The ozone gas will kill any MRSA on the skin and transdermal ozone will go through the skin and kill any MRSA inside the limb.

Its a good idea to open the windows while you are ozonating the limp as ozone is not good for the lungs.


If the infection is not in a limb which can be easily wrapped in a plastic bag then do the up to the neck ozone bagging again using sellotape to seal the bag at the neck so its airtight. Use a large thick binliner and stand in it while a friend/relation seals you up.Again open the windows.

But have a warm bath prior t

[edit on 4-1-2007 by esecallum]

PART 2

......But have a warm bath prior to ozone bagging and again to speed things up a gentle scrubbing to remove dead skin before bagging will increase the amount of ozone that can pass through the skin.
The bag will inflate with ozone and it will kill any surface MRSA infections and the transdermal ozone will penetrate the skin and ozonate the blood thus vastly improving it anti-pathogen properties.

The antibacterial and antivirial propertie of ozone gas are are well documented in search engines and its your duty to do the rsearch and then implement the solution as described above.

You will find this saves your limb and life if you are suffering from MRSA infection and are smart enough to think for yourself and to carry out the simple instructions above.

Ozone generators you can find from a search engine like google.They should have an output of at least 200mg/hr

Drinking cold ozonated water will increase the elimination of the MRSA infection even more quickly.

I suggest you all look up medical ozone in google or transdermal ozone or ozone bagging.

THE POINT OF THIS INFORMATION IS TO GET YOU TO DO SOME RESEARCH YOURSELF AND USING THAT INFORMATION TO CURE YOURSELF FROM MRSA INFECTIONS.
4841

Thanks for contributing esecallum.

But...

Your post makes it look like I posted your 'therapy.' I would prefer it did not.

Also - do you have a link, or other references?

PS. Thanks. Not easy to figure out, I know.


kallikak

Back to the problem of microbial mutation.

Can you explain in simple language how mutation occurs, at the molecular level? What happens? What are the mechanisms and processes? What molecules are involved? What happens to the molecules?

Thanks.

sofi


ed. to add PS

[edit on 4-1-2007 by soficrow]

Originally posted by apc

Even simple honey can kill antibiotic resistant bugs.

True, it can. But honey is not simple. Honey is great for killing bacteria and has also been used for this purpose for centuries. I believe even the ancient Egyptians used honey to heal wounds. Some people are unfortunately allergic to honey though...