Are YOU doing your bit to breed the next generation "super bug" bacteria ?

Earlier today, I was watching tv when up popped an ad for a hand-soap that claimed to kill 99.9% of germs/bacteria. That got me thinking about all those other ads for similar products such as detergent, kitchen cleaners, soaps, etc also claiming to be 99.9% effective in killing germs and bacteria.

Now these claims have me somewhat worried because if true, that would mean that by using these products and eliminating/destroying the 99.9% of bacteria/germs in a given population, we're effectively (and unknowingly) subjecting those populations to a form of "unnatural selection" pressure and "forcing" the evolution of the remaining 0.1% of bacteria in those populations in the direction of acquiring a significant anti-bacteria immunity. Essentially, we're "culling" the majority of weaker (and susceptible) bacteria leaving behind only those with an existing genetic anti-bacterial immunity as the sole breeding bacteria. Therefore any resultant descendant bacteria will over time, develop almost complete immunity to common household antibacterial products.

Personally, I have a hard time believing that the manufacturers of these "99.9%" products cannot be unaware of this inadvertent selection pressure being applied through large scale use of their products ... or do they simply not care when the BIG $ is involved ?

Surely in the greater scheme of things, this is large scale genetic manipulation and cannot be a good thing ?

reply to post by tauristercus


Personally, I am breeding the anti-bodies. And have been all my life.

And I have all the scars to prove it from running around the world all my life. Still quite healthy.

What can I say? I'm kind of a klutz.

reply to post by tauristercus


Hate to break it to you, but pretty much anything humans do and the consequences therein is "natural selection".

From killing something to genetic engineering. We all came from the Earth, and we have the most impact on it. If humans weren't around something else would be the dominant species. Something else would be shaping the world.

And the germs on countertops....

S&F

reply to post by tauristercus


I've been telling my mother for years to stop using that stuff, strictly because of this exact reason. It only takes a little common sense and brief moment of reason to figure out that the anti-germ hand soap is going to breed super bugs. She acknowledged my concerns and yet still continues to use the crap. Some people will never change. I personally find the stuff weird on my hands and stinky, so I will never use it for all of those reasons.

Maybe the people making it just see $$$$$ and think, "By the time any superbugs evolve, we'll be long dead!" Because realistically, it could take decades to kick in with the amount of people on Earth + the amount of bacterial lifeforms in our environment.

Then there are those people who fail to take all of their antibiotics prescription. And they keep the pills and everytime they get sick they take their old antibiotic meds. They are still unaware that antibiotics do not work on viruses and that when you fail to take your entire prescription you increase the chance of leaving behind surviving bacteria that can develop immunity to your meds.

I refuse to take any antibiotics at all and I stay away from hospitals, which are the worst breeding ground on earth for horrible diseases. People do not need to be smothered with healthcare.

And as for the soaps, many of the antibac ones contain triclosan, which is a liver toxin. Just use alcohol.

Well, I'm all for it. I think we need more superbugs, because once you civilian peons are all sickly and gross-like, then we can step in and save you all with the new unstoppable antibiotics from Polymedix, but at great price.

Mwa ha ha! You'll pay anything to get them, once you have super-mrsa or terminal tuberculosis. And we'll dole them out. A bit here, a squirt there, payment up front please.

My stock will soar! I'll be able to retire from the MIC decades early, and I'll get there on lifeguard antibacterial soap!

As a side note, NEVER use this sort of thing if you're living in a house with a septic tank - you get a lot of Triclosan in your tank and you'll have troubles forever.

reply to post by tauristercus


droppping a nuke on an island wont breed a species of atom bomb inmmune tree sloth.

Setting a forest fire everytime the trees grow back wont make fire resistant trees.

I undersatnd what your saying... but the chemical aspects of alot of antibacterial cleaners arent the same as antibiotics.

Well I for one have long believed anti-bac products are bad for us.

As a general rule I don't buy them, on the odd occaision we have (girly can't resist a bargin), my kids have ended up sick not long after we have finished using the product.

So yeah, there is definately something a miss with these products, my guess is prolonged usage will weaken your immune system, as perhaps the body forgets how to fight its old enemy (ok I'm really rambling now....sorry).

So in answer to the question, nope, I'm not doing enough