Superbugs Super Suck

So by “tomorrow” I would have another post, I meant “the tomorrow after I trying to learn how to poach eggs and twerk in my kitchen”. Also no, I’m not joking; I’ve never poached an egg before.

ANYWAY. Superbugs.

You know I have one of these.

Like the lice that evolved as humans and human habits changed, so have superbugs have evolved. “Superbug” is a blanket term referring to any bacteria that has evolved antibiotic resistance. Strains that were once easily susceptible to mild antibiotics, now require stronger and stronger drugs to be eradicated. So not only are the chances or prolonged illness and death increased, but more people have to deal with harsher drugs to cure an infection. Not good.

How does this happen? By frequent exposure, or infrequent, low-level exposure to antibiotics. I can explain how this works with one of my convoluted analogies (cause I haven’t done one of those in a while).

Many of you have probably heard of the businesses that will blast classical music outside in order to discourage hoodlums. The idea being that angry punks have no appreciation for Bach and Brahms and, finding the music annoying, will leave. If only one business were pumping the Baroque jams, then the kids would leave and find somewhere else to hang. Should a lot of businesses try this (whether or not angry punks are actually a problem), the kids would quickly become accustomed to the music. Similarly, if only a few businesses tried it, but not at volumes loud enough to be a proper annoyance, the kids would easily develop a tolerance and never leave. As a result, the businesses that actually have a problem with angry punks and hoodlums will have to play less and less mainstream music (like opera or free-form jazz) louder in order to clear their sidewalks. But at a certain point, they’ll alienate their own customers on top of the kids that want to smoke and curse outside. Either way, the business now has a lot of Classical Resistant Angry Punks (CRAP) to deal with.

In this scenario, the kids are the bacteria and the music is the antibiotic. When people use antibiotics unnecessarily (like when folks demand some for a viral infection), not only does it kill off your natural microbiota, but the frequent exposure ensures that only bacteria tough enough to withstand the drugs will survive. Remember, even your natural bacteria can be dangerous in the right place or population size.

Another problem occurs when patients do not finish their course of antibiotics. Many people assume that just because they feel better, they can stop taking medicine. However, this can end up only killing off the weaker bacteria, leaving resistant strains to proliferate and evolve stronger resistance. Bacteria can also pass their resistance on to or receive resistance from others. That’s how we get multiple-resistant pains in the neck like Staph.

If you have a bacterial infection that will not clear up on its own (like many ear infections), ABSOLUTELY take the antibiotics your doctor prescribes. Just make sure you finish the dose and do NOT demand antibiotics if they’re not necessary. Many people (especially parents) want to feel like they’re doing something about an infection, but antibiotics are not always the answer.

Hugs not drugs, guys.

Although hugs will not cure TB.

I strongly recommend drugs if you have TB.

The RIGHT ONES though.

Minocin will not help.

Just talk to a doctor, OK?

Ophid out.

Source

–. 2014. “Stop The Spread of Superbugs.” NIH News In Health. March 6, 2015. < http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/issue/feb2014/feature1&gt;

Nice Lice

So I’ve discussed a bit how animals will adapt to humans using crows as an example. But there are some other examples that aren’t so fun. Really fascinating and potentially cool, but not fun, at least not for humans. Specifically, I’m talking about pathogens.

But discussing antibiotic resistant superbugs is a major downer, so to kick it all off, today I will tell y’all a tale of parasites. You know, happy stuff.

Lice, if you are not aware, is a broad term describing 4000 different species. While a number like that may be enough to make your skin itch and crawl (or not, just don’t think about little buggy foots scurrying over your arms), humans only have to worry about 3 species: head lice, body lice and pubic lice (aka crabs).

Even if you managed not to share a hairbrush with anyone in grade school, you probably encountered head lice at some point, either cause you had to smell your sibling while they underwent the “mayo cure” or missed your friends while they were quarantined at home. Head lice are small, whitish and have been around for 7 million years. They’ve evolved with and bothered humans since our common ancestor to the chimp was around to scratch at them. Pretty impressive.

Body lice, on the other hand, have been around for a lousy 107,000 years. And where did they come from? They evolved from head lice as humans began wearing clothes. Despite what the name implies, body lice begin their lives in the seams of clothing, where they will eventually lay their own eggs, with a relocation to the skin for easier feeding inbetween. If you’re wondering why such clothes crawling critter is not a bigger problem, it’s because body lice need a consistently warm environment that, in humans, is best fostered by wearing the same clothes for weeks on end without washing. Something early humans did a lot, until someone discovered laundry. As a result, in modern times, lice favor the homeless and destitute (another reason why it’s so important to donate clothing to local shelters and charities).

Now, where does everyone think pubic lice came from? If you guessed that they evolved from body lice, well…NOPE. Pubic lice can inhabit any course hair (eyebrows, facial hair, etc) on the human body, but they are most closely related to lice found on gorillas. Now, considering that their easiest mode of transmission is via skin-to-skin contact…well, let’s just say I have serious questions for the early human who first caught crabs. Probably so did their significant other. And the gorilla.

Look! I caught crabs.

So that last tidbit was mostly a bonus, but pubic lice, as have head and body lice, have evolved with humans and their habits. In the case of head lice, we deal with them enough that they are adapting and becoming resistant to our extermination methods, which will bring me to tomorrow’s topic.

Cheers!

Sources

Stewart, Amy. 2011. “Wicked Bugs”. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill, NC.