Norway conquers infections by cutting use of antibiotics

"The best way to cut down on infections is to reduce antibiotic use, Norway finds.
Twenty-five years ago, Norwegians were also losing their lives to this bacteria. But Norway's public health system fought back with an aggressive program that made it the most infection-free country in the world. A key part of that program was cutting back severely on the use of antibiotics.

Now a spate of new studies from around the world prove that Norway's model can be replicated with extraordinary success, and public health experts are saying these deaths -- 19,000 in the U.S. each year alone, more than from AIDS -- are unnecessary."

www.miamiherald.com...

Wonderful article. I myself am fighting an infection right now, going on week two. Everyone keeps saying go to the DR. I say why? I am not going to die from this if I do not go to the doctor. It will simply take me longer to heal without the antibiotics.

From your article, it looks like there are some American hospitals finding success with this model.

" Around the world, various medical providers have successfully adapted Norway's program with encouraging results. A medical center in Billings, Mont., cut MRSA infections by 89 percent by increasing screening, isolating patients and making all staff -- not just doctors -- responsible for increasing hygiene.

In 2001, the CDC approached a Veterans Affairs hospital in Pittsburgh about conducting a small test program. It started in one unit, and within four years, the entire hospital was screening everyone who came through the door for MRSA. The result: an 80 percent decrease in MRSA infections.

The program has now been expanded to all 153 VA hospitals, resulting in a 50 percent drop in MRSA bloodstream infections, said Dr. Robert Muder, chief of infectious diseases at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System."

I'm so glad this is getting both mainsteam and ATS attention!

The CDC has been slowly (and I mean *very* slowly) adjusting their treatment and prevention guidelines to be more in line with the current protocols in Norway. Of course, if more of us would simply remember to wash our hands before going into a patient's room, that would solve a lot, but I'll admit I'm guilty of forgetting on occasion in the rush of going room to room.

The sad and difficult part of this is, however, that American culture is very much an instant gratification, give-me-a-pill-for-everything sort of culture. We have pharmaceutical ads on television, in magazines, even in newspapers. Until we can teach the populace that your body does, in fact, have the ability to fight mundane infections without antibiotics, I don't see how we'll curb MRSA.

How about getting more in touch with treatments from USSR/Russia and its former states?

Bacteriophage/Phage viruses is considered an acceptable, mainstream option in the East.

A recent news article about it appeared in Nature, saying Western researchers are getting interested in phages again.

One of the first scientists in the early stages of phage research had a lab exclusively for therapeutic purposes, very little research was done there. He had a few bumps in the road, but successfully treated many infections using solely phages.

The West finds it troublesome because each phage is only useful for a few strains at maximum, requiring the ID'ing of pathogen via culture of extracted body fluids, and tailoring a specific phage for treatment of that specific pathogen X.

[edit on 28-2-2010 by jjjtir]

Originally posted by jjjtir
How about getting more in touch with treatments from USSR/Russia and its former states?

Bacteriophage/Phage viruses is considered an acceptable, mainstream option in the East.

A recent news article about it appeared in Nature, saying Western researchers are getting interested in phages again.

One of the first scientists in the early stages of phage research had a lab exclusively for therapeutic purposes, very little research was done there. He had a few bumps in the road, but successfully treated many infections using solely phages.

The West finds it troublesome because each phage is only useful for a few strains at maximum, requiring the ID'ing of pathogen via culture of extracted body fluids, and tailoring a specific phage for treatment of that specific pathogen X.

[edit on 28-2-2010 by jjjtir]

Constant exposure to any sort of virus, bacteriophage or otherwise, also increases the chance the virus will pick up bits of exogenous human DNA and be able ton infect human cells. That's part of the reason recombinant DNA/RNA technology is still strictly controlled in clinical trials.

reply to post by pteridine


Tell it true OP!

One of the biggest 'disasters' IMO is the overuse of antibiotics. Now we created a system where we are weaklings when it comes to disease

well said

-Kyo

Awesome News!!!!

S & F!

Can't stand the thought of mandatory Vaccinations and control of Dietary Supplements!!!

I will look more into this

Fox

I haven't taken antibiotics in a long long time. If i get a really bad cold or maybe an infected cut i simply make sure i eat well,keep hydrated and maybe take some allicin. Over prescription of antibiotics is coming back to bite us on the arse.