# Antibiotic-resistant diseases pose 'apocalyptic' threat, top exp



## Boris (Nov 18, 2010)

*Antibiotic-resistant diseases pose 'apocalyptic' threat, top expert says*

"Britain's most senior medical adviser has warned MPs that the rise in drug-resistant diseases could trigger a national emergency *comparable to a catastrophic terrorist attack, pandemic flu or major coastal flooding.*

Dame Sally Davies, the chief medical officer, said the threat from infections that are resistant to frontline antibiotics was so serious that the issue should be added to the government's national risk register of civil emergencies.

She described what she called an "apocalyptic scenario" where people going for simple operations in 20 years' time die of routine infections "because we have run out of antibiotics".

The register was established in 2008 to advise the public and businesses on national emergencies that Britain could face in the next five years. The highest priority risks on the latest register include a deadly flu outbreak, catastrophic terrorist attacks, and major flooding on the scale of 1953, the last occasion on which a national emergency was declared in the UK.

Speaking to MPs on the Commons science and technology committee, Davies said she would ask the Cabinet Office to add antibiotic resistance to the national risk register in the light of an annual report on infectious disease she will publish in March.

Davies declined to elaborate on the report, but said its publication would coincide with a government strategy to promote more responsible use of antibiotics among doctors and the clinical professions. "We need to get our act together in this country," she told the committee.

She told the Guardian: ""There are few public health issues of potentially greater importance for society than antibiotic resistance. It means we are at increasing risk of developing infections that cannot be treated &#8211; but resistance can be managed.

"That is why we will be publishing a new cross-government strategy and action plan to tackle this issue in early spring."

The issue of drug resistance is as old as antibiotics themselves, and arises when drugs knock out susceptible infections, leaving hardier, resilient strains behind. The survivors then multiply, and over time can become unstoppable with frontline medicines. Some of the best known are so-called hospital superbugs such as MRSA that are at the root of outbreaks among patients.

"In the past, most people haven't worried because we've always had new antibiotics to turn to," said Alan Johnson, consultant clinical scientist at the Health Protection Agency. *"What has changed is that the development pipeline is running dry. **We don't have new antibiotics that we can rely on in the immediate future or in the longer term*."

Changes in modern medicine have exacerbated the problem by making patients more susceptible to infections. For example, cancer treatments weaken the immune system, and the use of catheters increases the chances of bugs entering the bloodstream.

"We are becoming increasingly reliant on antibiotics in a whole range of areas of medicine. If we don't have new antibiotics to deal with the problems of resistance we see, we are going to be in serious trouble," Johnson added.

The supply of new antibiotics has dried up for several reasons, but a major one is that drugs companies see greater profits in medicines that treat chronic conditions, such as heart disease, which patients must take for years or even decades. "There is a broken market model for making new antibiotics," Davies told the MPs.

Davies has met senior officials at the World Health Organisation and her counterparts in other countries to develop a strategy to tackle antibiotic resistance globally.

Drug resistance is emerging in diseases across the board. Davies said 80% of gonorrhea was now resistant to the frontline antibiotic tetracycline, and infections were rising in young and middle-aged people. Multi-drug resistant TB was also a major threat, she said.

Another worrying trend is the rise in infections that are resistant to powerful antibiotics called carbapenems, which doctors rely on to tackle the most serious infections. Resistant bugs carry a gene variant that allows them to destroy the drug. What concerns some scientists is that the gene variant can spread freely between different kinds of bacteria, said Johnson.

Bacteria resistant to carbapenems were first detected in the UK in 2003, when three cases were reported. The numbers remained low until 2007, but have since leapt to 333 in 2010, with 217 cases in the first six months of 2011, according to the latest figures from the HPA."
From: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/jan/23/antibiotic-resistant-diseases-apocalyptic-threat

Boris Romanov
www.borisromanov.com


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

Yes, a couple of months ago they reported that Gonorrhea is now treatable with only one Antibiotic. It won't be long before that one will be useless.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

Unless you go back to the plants and herbs that can handle it all.
Hospitals are reverting back to some of the old ways.. silver for wound care and resistant skin diseases.
Essential oils for anti-microbial uses where modern approaches have failed etc..

I make sure I know what I have available in my yard and gardens and how to use them. 
I am only vaguely concerned..


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## Boris (Nov 18, 2010)

chickenista said:


> ...Essential oils for anti-microbial uses where modern approaches have failed etc...


I prefer to use onion and garlic (especially prior and during Flu seasons), because of three reasons:
- Phytoncides of onion and garlic are capable to kill various microbes (of cause not all!) on considerable distance for a long time (garlic is the best - up to 270 hours). 
- onion and garlic are very affordable,
- easy to grow in a garden.

"More than 5000 volatile substances defend the surrounding plants from bacteria, fungi and insects. Phytoncides work by preventing the growth of the attacking organism."


In addition, I use onion in my beekeeping practice for many years:








http://www.beebehavior.com/natural_beekeeping.php


More details about Phytoncides are posted here:
http://www.beebehavior.com/phytoncides.php
*
Soldiers Given Onions, Garlic to Fight H1N1 Flu*
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,575689,00.html


*Garlic*
"Vampires beware (and anyone who might want to kiss you). Garlic packs a strong odor, which is attributed to the immune-boosting sulfur compounds contained within. Though not rich in any one nutrient, it does contain alliin and allicin, which are two sulfur compounds known for their antibiotic activity. Louis Pasteur first showed how garlic juice inhibited the growth of bacteria, yeast, and fungi. A double-blind, placebo-controlled study found that those who took a garlic supplement didn&#8217;t have fewer occurrences of the cold and flu, but it reduced symptoms and time that subjects felt badly."
http://blogs.webmd.com/food-and-nutrition/2012/12/three-flu-fighters.html

*Is That Right? Onions and garlic fight swine flu?* http://voices.washingtonpost.com/checkup/2009/11/is_that_right_onions_and_garli.html

*Onions and Garlic May Prevent Cancers*: http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20061121/cancer-prevention-helped-by-onions-and-garlic

*Onion* 
"The thiosulfinates in Onion exhibit antimicrobial properties. These compounds are effective in killing many common bacteria, including Salmonella typhi, Pseudomonas aeriginosa, and Escherichia col (E. coli). *Onion is not as potent as garlic since the sulfur compounds in onion are only about one-quarter the level found in garlic.* As well as being the principle flavor, allicin is also a powerful antibiotic that can avert food poisoning and gastritis. The essence of onion is also used to combat food poisoning from E. coli and salmonella bacteria."
http://www.herballegacy.com/Peret_Medicinal.html


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## Haven (Aug 16, 2010)

Boris said:


> She described what she called an "apocalyptic scenario" where people going for simple operations in 20 years' time die of routine infections "because we have run out of antibiotics".


I was under the impression that this is already happening frequently.

I have taken 1 antibiotic in 15 years for a nasty sinus infection - tyring to be part of the solution, but i have a feeling it won't help.


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

It has been 30 years for me, and I hate to think of taking any now. I've traveled a good bit and been exposed to a lot. I'd hate to ruin my garden and zoo.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Wondering now if my use of so much wild onion/garlic is what has kept David and I from getting sick the past 15 yrs...cannot remember when I have suffered from flue-type symptoms.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

chickenista said:


> Hospitals are reverting back to some of the old ways.. silver for wound care and resistant skin diseases.


They are using it to kill MRSA on wounds more and more now.

I think the governments are actually putting out those warnings more to move public agenda to further control antibiotic access more than for health reasons though. Call me skeptical, but I really believe it is more to restrict antibiotic access more than true concern for antibiotic resistance in the masses.


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## Boris (Nov 18, 2010)

mekasmom said:


> ...I think the governments are actually putting out those warnings more to move public agenda to further control antibiotic access more than for health reasons though. Call me skeptical, but I really believe it is more to restrict antibiotic access more than true concern for antibiotic resistance in the masses.


I do not agree with this opinion.
There is no chance to deny these well-known facts and warnings raised by scientists.

For example:
"Antibiotic resistance is the ability of a microorganism to withstand the effects of an antibiotic. It is a specific type of drug resistance.
Antibiotic resistance evolves naturally via natural selection through random mutation, but it could also be engineered by applying an evolutionary stress on a population.
Once such a gene is generated, bacteria can then transfer the genetic information in a horizontal fashion (between individuals) by plasmid exchange.
If a bacterium carries several resistance genes, it is called multiresistant or, informally, a superbug. Causes Antibiotic resistance can also be introduced artificially into a microorganism through transformation protocols.
This can be a useful way of implanting artificial genes into the microorganism. Antibiotic resistance is a consequence of evolution via natural selection.
The antibiotic action is an environmental pressure; those bacteria which have a mutation allowing them to survive will live on to reproduce.
They will then pass this trait to their offspring, which will be a fully resistant generation.
Several studies have demonstrated that patterns of antibiotic usage greatly affect the number of resistant organisms which develop.
Overuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics, such as second- and third-generation cephalosporins, greatly hastens the development of methicillin resistance.
Other factors contributing towards resistance include incorrect diagnosis, unnecessary prescriptions, improper use of antibiotics by patients, and the use of antibiotics as livestock food additives for growth promotion. Researchers have recently demonstrated the bacterial protein LexA may play a key role in the acquisition of bacterial mutations. Resistant pathogens Staphylococcus aureus (colloquially known as "Staph aureus" or a Staph infection) is one of the major resistant pathogens.
Found on the mucous membranes and the skin of around a third of the population, it is extremely adaptable to antibiotic pressure.
*It was the first bacterium in which penicillin resistance was found&#8212;in 1947, just four years after the drug started being mass-produced.*
Methicillin was then the antibiotic of choice, but has since been replaced by oxacillin due to significant kidney toxicity.
MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) was first detected in Britain in 1961 and is now "quite common" in hospitals.
MRSA was responsible for 37% of fatal cases of blood poisoning in the UK in 1999, up from 4% in 1991.
Half of all S. aureus infections in the US are resistant to penicillin, methicillin, tetracycline and erythromycin. This left vancomycin as the only effective agent available at the time.
*However, strains with intermediate (4-8 ug/ml) levels of resistence, termed GISA (glycopeptide intermediate Staphylococcus aureus) or VISA (vancomycin intermediate Staphylococcus aureus), began appearing the the late 1990s.*
The first identified case was in Japan in 1996, and strains have since been found in hospitals in England, France and the US.
*The first documented strain with complete (>16ug/ml) resistence to vancomycin, termed VRSA (Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) appeared in the United States in 2002. *A new class of antibiotics, oxazolidinones, became available in the 1990s, and the first commercially available oxazolidinone, linezolid, is comparable to vancomycin in effectiveness against MRSA.
Linezolid-resistance in Staphylococcus aureus was reported in 2003. CA-MRSA (Community-acquired MRSA) has now emerged as an epidemic that is responsible for rapidly progressive, fatal diseases including necrotizing pneumonia, severe sepsis and necrotizing fasciitis.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is the most frequently identified antimicrobial drug-resistant pathogen in US hospitals.
*The epidemiology of infections caused by MRSA is rapidly changing.
In the past 10 years, infections caused by this organism have emerged in the community.
The 2 MRSA clones in the United States most closely associated with community outbreaks, USA400 (MW2 strain, ST1 lineage) and USA300, often contain Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) genes and, more frequently, have been associated with skin and soft tissue infections.
Outbreaks of community-associated (CA)-MRSA infections have been reported in correctional facilities, among athletic teams, among military recruits, in newborn nurseries, and among active homosexual men.
CA-MRSA infections now appear to be endemic in many urban regions and cause most CA-S. aureus infections.*
Enterococcus faecium is another superbug found in hospitals.
*Penicillin-Resistant Enterococcus was seen in 1983, Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus (VRE) in 1987, and Linezolid-Resistant Enterococcus (LRE) in the late 1990s.* Streptococcus pyogenes (Group A Streptococcus: GAS) infections can usually be treated with many different antibiotics.
Early treatment may reduce the risk of death from invasive group A streptococcal disease.
However, even the best medical care does not prevent death in every case.
For those with very severe illness, supportive care in an intensive care unit may be needed.
For persons with necrotizing fasciitis, surgery often is needed to remove damaged tissue.
Strains of S. pyogenes resistant to macrolide antibiotics have emerged, however all strains remain uniformly sensitive to penicillin. Resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae to penicillin and other beta-lactams is increasing worldwide.
The major mechanism of resistance involves the introduction of mutations in genes encoding penicillin-binding proteins.
Selective pressure is thought to play an important role, and use of beta-lactam antibiotics has been implicated as a risk factor for infection and colonization.
Streptococcus pneumoniae is responsible for pneumonia, bacteremia, otitis media, meningitis, sinusitis, peritonitis and arthritis."
From: http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/a/antibiotic_resistance.htm


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## tab (Aug 20, 2002)

I too go along with the idea of superbugs as this was something I read about years ago. It was pooh poohed at the time. Now, that isn't to say that the situation isn't being utilized to restrict antibiotics....

Another factor to consider is the widespread use in beef and poultry. It is one of the reasons I started raising my own. IIRC, one of the worst strains of e-coli goes back to beef. Racine is classed as an antibiotic and is used by the ton in feeds. Just a little reading on the use of antibiotics in farming was enough to convince me that is a prime area of suerbug breeding.


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## Boris (Nov 18, 2010)

Let's go back to the topic of my thread...
One of the main problem was described by Alan Johnson: "In the past, most people haven't worried because we've always had new antibiotics to turn to," said Alan Johnson, consultant clinical scientist at the Health Protection Agency. "*What has changed is that the development pipeline is running dry. We don't have new antibiotics that we can rely on in the immediate future or in the longer term.*"

What about FDA's statements?

"*Research and development for new antibacterial drugs has been in decline in recent decades, and the number of new FDA-approved antibacterial drugs has been falling steadily since the 1980s.* During this time, the persistent and sometimes indiscriminate use of existing antibacterial drugs worldwide has resulted in a decrease in the effectiveness of these drugs. This phenomenon, known as antibacterial drug resistance or antibiotic resistance, has become a serious issue of global concern. 
*More than 70 percent of the bacteria that cause hospital-associated infections (HAIs) are resistant to at least one type of antibacterial drug most commonly used to treat these infections. In the United States, nearly 2 million Americans developed HAIs in 2002, resulting in about 99,000 deaths*."
FDA NEWS RELEASE. For Immediate Release: Sept. 24, 2012
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm320643.htm

*Hospital-acquired Infections ((HAI)*
"In the United States, 1 out of 20 hospitalized patients contract HAIs and *100,000 die each year (in the USA alone!),* but as of 2010 only 27 states have laws requiring hospitals to report their rates of infection."
http://www.npsf.org/for-healthcare-professionals/resource-center/definitions-and-hot-topics/
*So, is this Britain's most senior medical adviser's warning is unrealistic? *"... the rise in drug-resistant diseases could trigger a national emergency comparable to a catastrophic terrorist attack, pandemic flu or major coastal flooding."

*FDA's Role in Antimicrobial Resistance*
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Testimony/ucm096424.htm


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## LonelyNorthwind (Mar 6, 2010)

Personally I think the medical and pharmaceudical industries should be charged with crimes against humanity. Push the drugs, rake in the profits, no matter the cost to humanity. Sickening.

I'm wondering. I'm 65 and I just don't get sick. I took a dose of antibiotics 7 years ago, that was the first time in probably 30 years. Are these new bacteria resistant to the antibiotics period...or they restiant in people who take them all the time?


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## Boris (Nov 18, 2010)

GrammasCabin said:


> ...Are these new bacteria resistant to the antibiotics period...or they restiant in people who take them all the time?


According to the testimony of Linda Tollefson before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions:
*"Many factors contribute to the spread of antimicrobial resistance. In some cases, doctors prescribe antibiotics too frequently or inappropriately. Sometimes patients do not complete the prescribed course of an antibiotic, making it more likely that surviving microbes will develop resistance. 
In addition, antibiotics used to prevent infections in livestock may contribute to the emergence of resistant germs that can infect people. Through international trade and travel, resistant microbes can spread quickly worldwide."*
You can read more about this here:
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Testimony/ucm096424.htm

"*Changes in modern medicine have exacerbated the problem by making patients more susceptible to infections.
...Another worrying trend is the rise in infections that are resistant to powerful antibiotics called carbapenems, which doctors rely on to tackle the most serious infections. Resistant bugs carry a gene variant that allows them to destroy the drug. What concerns some scientists is that the gene variant can spread freely between different kinds of bacteria,"*
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/jan/23/antibiotic-resistant-diseases-apocalyptic-threat

*"Overuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics, such as second- and third-generation cephalosporins, greatly hastens the development of methicillin resistance."*
http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/a/antibiotic_resistance.htm

*"Each time you take antibiotics, you are more likely to have some bacteria that the medicine does not kill. Over time these bacteria change (mutate) and become harder to kill. The antibiotics that used to kill them no longer work. These bacteria are called antibiotic-resistant bacteria."*
http://www.cigna.com/individualandf...ics/using-antibiotics-wisely-hw63605spec.html


*Useful recommendations:*
*How can I help to make sure that antibiotics are the best treatment for me*?
"Be smart about using antibiotics. *Know that antibiotics can help treat infections caused by bacteria but not by viruses*. Here are some things you can do to help make sure antibiotics will work when you need them:

*Always ask your doctor if antibiotics are the best treatment.* Explain that you do not want antibiotics unless you need them.
Avoid pressuring your doctor into prescribing antibiotics when they won't help you feel better or cure your illness. Ask your doctor what else you can do to feel better.
Do not use antibiotics that were prescribed for a different illness or for someone else. You may delay correct treatment and become sicker.
Protect yourself from illnesses. Keep your hands clean by washing them well with soap and clean, running water.
Get a flu vaccine and other vaccines when you need them."
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/using-antibiotics-wisely-topic-overview


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## onebizebee (May 12, 2011)

Manuka honey will kill MRSA dead. Just in case any of you find yourselves with it or any other wound that will not heal. We have used it for many things. Especially on wounds that won't heal. Example friend is a nurse she has MRSA. She can take anibiotics till the end of time. They do not work. The last outbreak she had was on her face. It was so bad they were going to do surgery to remove the infection and install drains to keep it under better control until the antibiotics could work. She called me in tears knowing I am (ha) as she said in to herbs and such. I told her to pack it with raw manuka honey then make a honey dressing to lay over it. Change only once every 24 hours. She was very skeptical it would work. It cleared the infection with in the first 48 hours but did take an addition 10 days to heal over. No scar. This will work on bed soars that are out of control too. The honey is expensive but will last a very long time a little goes a long way. Best defence against germs plain ol soap and water. Super bugs scare the heck out of my my husband works in three hospitals. He sees out of control infections everyday.


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## Boris (Nov 18, 2010)

motdaugrnds said:


> Wondering now if my use of so much wild onion/garlic is what has kept David and I from getting sick the past 15 yrs...cannot remember when I have suffered from flue-type symptoms.


There is at least one strong argument to prove your assumption. 
According to the very trusted brand in the World &#8211; the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of phytoncide is: &#8220;*Phytoncid*e - any of various *bactericidal substances* obtained from plants (as *onion and garli*c)&#8221;
http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/phytoncide

*Note:* 
Sometimes you can see statements similar to this: _"This formula is designed to give the benefits of garlic without the odor associated with it." _
But what about the real benefits of such "formulas"?









I do not recommend to use smell-less/odorless garlic tablets and capsules, because even phytoncides from the freshly chopped garlic are active for the limited time.

Boris Romanov


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## Boris (Nov 18, 2010)

onebizebee said:


> Manuka honey will kill MRSA dead...



*Some notes about honey with antibacterial activity:*
1. &#8220;&#8230; All honeys are not the same and do not possess the same therapeutic advantages; therefore, honey should not be considered as a generic term.[6] *Medihoney*&#8482; Antibacterial Honey (Medihoney&#8482; Pty LTD, Richlands, Australia) is a standardized medical honey that is available in many countries including Australia, United Kingdom, Finland, Germany, Austria, and Turkey. It is selected for its antibacterial activity and predominantly sourced from Leptospermum species.&#8221;
You can read more about Medihoney/Antibacterial Honey here:
http://www.beebehavior.com/honey.php

2. The Manuka honey scam is so serious, therefore this warning was posted on Ebay
_Manuka Honey Scam Normal Honey Being Relabelled ! : eBay Guides_
http://reviews.ebay.co.uk/Manuka-Honey-Scam-Normal-Honey-Being-Relabelled?ugid=10000000012583958
http://newzeelend.wordpress.com/manuka-honey-scam/

_Some reviews from Amazon.com_
&#8220;I purchased it in early November 2012, and I took it every day (I mixed the honey with some warm water and then drink it). Now I have almost finished the whole bottle, but my sore throat and sinus infections are still bothering me. I do not know why the reviewers here thought this honey special and worth this high price (about $45 for 17.6 ounce), but I have decided not buying it any more. &#8220;
http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member..._pr_auth_rev?ie=UTF8&sort_by=MostRecentReview

&#8220;Wedderspoon recently changed everything about this honey. It's no longer organic (*maybe it never was and they got caught?*), has a vague 16+ on the label without describing what that rating means and who rated it and now says packed by new zealand honey company for Wedderspooon.Pay a little more for the real stuff as there's too many fishy things happening with this brand.&#8221;
http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member..._pr_auth_rev?ie=UTF8&sort_by=MostRecentReview


So, in my opinion it is to difficult to buy the raw organic honey with antibacterial activity, but it&#8217;s not too difficult to grow onion and garlic in a garden.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

It is wise to have some pure silver on hand. You can get the small 1g bars or coins on Ebay cheaply. But everyone should have at least 2 pieces of silver to make their own colloidal silver if they are in a bind with no other option. You don't need a special $200 generator. Just hook it up with an adapter or batteries straight if you have to. It will still generate. But everyone should have some silver just for emergency purposes.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/Bars-Rounds-/39489/i.html?_ipg=200&_from=R40&_nkw=1+gram+silver


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

Sounds like marketing by some honey producers. ALL honey produces "mild" hydrogen perioxide when exposed to water and that kills bacteria and viruses. The oxygen atom that gets released oxidizes the bacteria or virus.


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## onebizebee (May 12, 2011)

I would not buy Manuka honey from Ebay. I get mine thru my husbands hospitals it is the same as what is used in many other countries. We use it in many wound care patients that have infectious wounds that will not heal. I am telling ya this will heal wounds down to the bone. It is not a scam. I use it to clear infections on my animals as well. I just finised the last tube up and I am awaiting the next shipment due in next week.


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## Boris (Nov 18, 2010)

fishhead said:


> ... ALL honey produces "mild" hydrogen perioxide when exposed to water and that kills bacteria and viruses. The oxygen atom that gets released oxidizes the bacteria or virus.


I prefer to trust the WebMd. And according to this well-known source of medical information: "Honey has been used since ancient times to treat multiple conditions. It wasn't until the late 19th century that researchers discovered that honey has natural antibacterial qualities.
Honey protects against damage caused by bacteria. Some honey also stimulates production of special cells that can repair tissue damaged by infection. In addition, honey has an anti-inflammatory action that can quickly reduce pain and inflammation once it is applied.
*But not all honey is the same. The antibacterial quality of honey depends on the type of honey as well as when and how it's harvested. Some kinds of honey may be 100 times more potent than others.*
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/manuka-honey-medicinal-uses

Boris Romanov


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

Maybe we should be spending some of our national defense budget on researching honey and antibiotic and rapid vaccine development methods?


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## Boris (Nov 18, 2010)

mekasmom said:


> It is wise to have some pure silver on hand. ...
> But everyone should have some silver just for emergency purposes.
> http://www.ebay.com/sch/Bars-Rounds-/39489/i.html?_ipg=200&_from=R40&_nkw=1+gram+silver


I have some knowledge about ability of silver to kill several types of bacteria. For example I used silver coins in my fish tank more than fifty years ago.
Nevertheless, why you think that "everyone should have some silver just for emergency purposes?"


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## Boris (Nov 18, 2010)

onebizebee said:


> ... It is not a scam...


I do not want to deny your positive experience with manuka honey,
I just want to warn forum members that scam with manuka honey is a reality.

Please read these articles:

&#8220;*Components of Manuka Honey*
Hydrogen peroxide is a component of honey. It gives most honey its antibiotic quality. But some types of honey, including manuka honey, also have other components with antibacterial qualities.
The major antibacterial component in manuka honey is methylglyoxal (MG). MG is a compound found in most types of honey, but usually only in small quantities.
In manuka honey, MG comes from the conversion of another compound -- dihydroxyacetone -- that is found in high concentration in the nectar of manuka flowers.
MG is thought to give manuka honey its antibacterial power. The higher the concentration of MG, the stronger the antibiotic effect.
Honey producers have developed a scale for rating the potency of manuka honey. The rating is called UMF, which stands for Unique Manuka Factor.
The UMF rating corresponds with the concentration of MG. Not all honey labeled as manuka honey contains significant levels of MG. *To be considered potent enough to be therapeutic, manuka honey needs a minimum rating of 10 UMF. Honey at or above that level is marketed as "UMF Manuka Honey" or "Active Manuka Honey."&#8221;*
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/manuka-honey-medicinal-uses

*New way to fingerprint manuka honey; findings may combat fraud*
"...But another effect of the high price of New Zealand's manuka honey is the *apparent practice of blending high quality of bioactive manuka honey with&#8230;*"
http://www.foodnavigator-asia.com/F...rprint-manuka-honey-findings-may-combat-fraud

*Manuka Honey Quality Questioned - NZ News Report*
&#8220;As just reported in New Zealand's main newspaper - The New Zealand Herald - a *university PhD student has found that fewer than half of the 26 manuka honeys she tested were 'true to label'.*
&#8230; Importantly it should be noted that some of the issues highlighted in this story do not only affect manuka honey, and that *globally honey* (i.e all honeys) *has been placed in the top 3 of foods that have food fraud problems.*&#8221;
http://manukahoneyexpert.blogspot.com/

*Investigator scathing of newsletter*
&#8220;...Product testing by AMHA showed that Manuka Health had packed and sold UMFÂ® honey that wasn&#8217;t true to label. Product sold which is not true to label is misleading and deceptive conduct in trade and can lead to consumers purchasing products they believe to be of a stated quality when it isn&#8217;t..."
http://www.btob.co.nz/article/investigator-scathing-newsletter

*Tests Show Most Store Honey Isn&#8217;t Honey*
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/11/tests-show-most-store-honey-isnt-honey/#.UQwmFB3m1n4

onebizebee, could you please provide your source of good manuka honey?

Boris Romanov

P.S.
I have manuka honey (15+ activity rating). My son bought it for me from the UK.
Hope I will post some test results with this honey in comparison with my ordinary organic honey and garlic.


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## sss3 (Jul 15, 2007)

I, too, would like source of Manuka Honey.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

Boris said:


> why you think that "everyone should have some silver just for emergency purposes?"


Because they will have it on hand in case they find it necessary to generate some antibiotics for themselves. It kills MRSA, VRE, c dif, etc., even when typical antibiotics fail. And if you have it on hand, then the government cannot "regulate" its use for you. A bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush and all that.
It is difficult for people to buy antibiotics OTC sans script now. Even livestock antibiotics are being regulated. How long do we think fish antibiotics will be available OTC? It is just better to have something on hand in case of emergencies.


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## onebizebee (May 12, 2011)

I get it thu my husbands hospital they use Medihoney brand.I get a better price when it is bought in bulk. It can be bought online from several places. http://www.woundcareshop.com/manuka.../MEDIHONEY-WOUND-PASTE-Size-1-5/dp/B002GO73CQ 

http://www.amazon.com/MEDIHONEY-WOUND-PASTE-Size-1-5/dp/B002GO73CQ

http://www.saveritemedical.com/prod...te-15oz.html?gclid=CIbf1baflrUCFQSf4AodI2cASw

It is expensive but it has been worth every penny.
I agree there are a lot of people out there scamming other folks. 
Also having silver on hand is a good idea as well.


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## Boris (Nov 18, 2010)

onebizebee,

In your post # 14 you stated: &#8220;Manuka honey will kill MRSA dead. .... We have used it for many things.&#8221;

And I asked you to &#8220;provide your source of good manuka honey&#8221;, but not Medihoney products made with manuka honey (dressings and paste).

So, can you recommend any source of real manuka honey that you use?
I would like to get a link similar to these:
http://www.rowsehoney.co.uk/our-products/#our-products/?range=manuka-honey
http://www.airborne.co.nz/manuka.shtml
Now I'm testing manuka honey (15+) from the Rowse honey.

Thank you in advance.
Boris Romanov


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## onebizebee (May 12, 2011)

The honey my nurse friend used is this one she got it at Earthfare The brand she used is the wild bee. http://store.thewildbee.com/ Her jar had Bio active 15+ on it.I have not used this brand. I have used the medihoney in recent years. Twenty plus years ago when doing wound care with my mom we used a brand but I do not remember what is was I was 16 years old at the time. It was shipped directly from Australia.


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## Boris (Nov 18, 2010)

onebizebee said:


> *The honey my nurse friend used *is this one she got it at Earthfare The brand she used is the wild bee... *I have used the medihoney in recent years*.


I think something is wrong with your two completely diffident statement about sources of manuka honey and your experience with this honey, because previously you stated (post #19): "I would not buy Manuka honey from Ebay. *I get mine thru my husbands hospitals* it is the same as what is used in many other countries. *We use it in many wound care patients that have infectious wounds that will not heal."*

Once again, the medihoney products (links) that you mentioned many times are NOT THE raw (100% pure) MANUKA HONEY!

I'm interesting in manuka honey, *that you get through your husband's hospitals*, but nothing else, because I'm going to find the truth about this statement: "M&#257;nuka honey is a monofloral honey produced in New Zealand and Australia from the nectar of the m&#257;nuka tree. It has in vitro antibacterial properties, *but there is not conclusive evidence of benefit in medical use.*"
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mānuka_honey


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## onebizebee (May 12, 2011)

I am just posting my personal experience with it. I have already stated I used it in the past while working with my mom in home health nursing over 20 years ago. It was the raw manuka honey I do not remember what the brand name of it was. We impregnated dressings with it also packing the wound with it. Sometimes we injected in to fistulas with it. My moms specialty was wound care. No one is saying you have to use it. I am just posting my experience with its use in situations where antibiotics were not working. I am in the United States where the Manuka Honey bush does not grow so I have no choice but to rely on sources that I hope are reliable! Sometimes a little faith is needed rather than documented facts.

Of course the medihoney is not 100% it has been made for hospital use. I have found it does not matter. It works just as well as the RAW Manuka honey. My husbands hospital uses MEDIHONEY. They can't use Raw honey that has not been regulated by the almighty FDA. This the way it is. They have to have something with a manufacture date and batch number so if there is ever a problem with it they have a documented source to go back to. 
*"but there is not conclusive evidence of benefit in medical use"*. Ok I don't have a problem with that. Drug companies would rather you overload your body with antibiotics that no longer work. I choose not to go that route. It does not work with MRSA or with bad bed soars. I know that this particular honey works well. I will continue to use it as a source for wound care. It works for me it works for others. If you don't have enough documented evidence from the medical community that it is of benefit don't use it.

If you can benefit from my experience with it great if not that's fine too. I hope you never have to fight an antibiotic resistant infection in yourself or a loved one. They are very scary.


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## Boris (Nov 18, 2010)

That means your previous statement (see below) is simply incorrect. 



onebizebee said:


> I would not buy *Manuka honey* from Ebay. *I get mine thru my husbands hospitals* it is the same as what is used in many other countries. We use it in many wound care patients that have infectious wounds that will not heal. I am telling ya this will heal wounds down to the bone. It is not a scam. I use it to clear infections on my animals as well. I just finised the last tube up and I am awaiting the next shipment due in next week.


And we don't know how companies cooked dressings for hospitals...
But we know that cooked honey is not honey anymore: *Tests Show Most Store Honey Isn&#8217;t Honey*
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/11/tests-show-most-store-honey-isnt-honey/#.UQ5zyh3m1n5


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## onebizebee (May 12, 2011)

That has what exactly to do with ebay? I am not sure exactly what you would like me to type to make you satisfied. I do not believe at this point you will be satisfied with anything I answer with. Try it if you want or don't. I gave you my source. I have given you a source for the brand my friend used in the last two months that is raw. Both work. Would I buy the honey from The Wild Bee in the future? Yes. Will I continue to use medihoney? Yes. At this time it is economically more beneficial to buy directly from the hospital. I am not going to continue with this nit picking. If ya find your self with a nasty non healing wound try it if nothing else is clearing it. If you never get a nasty wound you are blessed.


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## Boris (Nov 18, 2010)

In my opinion - you misinformed us about your experience with *manuka honey in the hospitals * from the beginning (your post #19).
Any *cooked dressing* that you mentioned later- are different stories...


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## onebizebee (May 12, 2011)

Boris, I am not an analytical person.I go by what has worked for myself in my own experience. I do not feel the need to find out the why down to last micro detail. If I did this all the time I would be extremely awkward in society. I am a caregiver. I do not approach people contradicting them every other sentence.I listen to them and give them feed back on my own experience with something. I don't have the need to back everything up with a document or research to prove my point. It is socially off putting. My brother does this he is a very lonely soul. No one wants to be around him because of this behavior. Life is to short to be spent arguing. Try the honey your son brought you. Find out on your own to see how it works for you. Try to enjoy life without nit picking a persons comment half to death. Do your own research and figure out what works for you don't rely on others to do it all for you.


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## Boris (Nov 18, 2010)

So, the situation is very clear to me - you have no proofs that you successfully used *manuka honey* "... in many wound care patients".

Besides, I never asked you to provide me information about cooked dressings...


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## onebizebee (May 12, 2011)

The proof is the wound healed. Have a good day Boris.


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## Boris (Nov 18, 2010)

Now it's too easy to misinform people (post #19), especially if you an anonymous...


I prefer to believe in official studies similar to this:

"Randomized clinical trial of honey-impregnated dressings for venous leg ulcers.
Jull A, Walker N, Parag V, Molan P, Rodgers A; Honey as Adjuvant Leg Ulcer Therapy trial collaborators.
*Source*
Clinical Trials Research Unit, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. [email protected]
Abstract
*METHODS:*
_This community-based open-label randomized trial allocated people with a venous ulcer to calcium alginate dressings impregnated with manuka honey or usual care._ All participants received compression bandaging. The primary outcome was the proportion of ulcers healed after 12 weeks. Secondary outcomes were: time to healing, change in ulcer area, incidence of infection, costs per healed ulcer, adverse events and quality of life. Analysis was by intention to treat.
*RESULTS:*
Of 368 participants, 187 were randomized to honey and 181 to usual care. At 12 weeks, 104 ulcers (55.6 per cent) in the honey-treated group and 90 (49.7 per cent) in the usual care group had healed (absolute increase 5.9 (95 per cent confidence interval (c.i.) -4.3 to 15.7) per cent; P = 0.258). Treatment with honey was probably more expensive and associated with more adverse events (relative risk 1.3 (95 per cent c.i. 1.1 to 1.6); P = 0.013). *There were no significant differences between the groups for other outcomes.*
*CONCLUSION:*
*Honey-impregnated dressings did not significantly improve venous ulcer healing at 12 weeks compared with usual care.* Registration number: ISRCTN 06161544 (http://www.controlled-trials.com).
2008 British Journal of Surgery Society Ltd. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


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## onebizebee (May 12, 2011)

Of course I choose to remain anonymous, I don't need to be stalked Boris!


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## Boris (Nov 18, 2010)

*The horrible statistics*

*One (!) bacteria, 30,000 deaths*
By Peter Eisler, USA TODAY

"Just days after doctors successfully removed a tumor from Bailey Quishenberry's brain, the 14-year-old was spiraling downhill, delirious and writhing in pain from an entirely new menace.
Her abdomen swollen 10 times its normal size and her fever skyrocketing, Bailey began wishing she could die, just to escape the agony.
Bailey had contracted a potentially fatal infection called Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, that ravages the intestines. The bacteria preys on people in hospitals, nursing homes and other medical facilities -- the very places patients trust to protect their health.
A USA TODAY investigation shows that C. diff is far more prevalent than federal reports suggest. The bacteria is linked in hospital records to more than 30,000 deaths a year in the United States -- about twice federal estimates and rivaling the 32,000 killed in traffic accidents. It strikes about a half-million Americans a year.
Yet despite a decade of rising C. diff rates, health care providers and the government agencies that oversee them have been slow to adopt proven strategies to reduce the infections, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and illnesses that could have been prevented, the investigation shows.
"People are dying needlessly," says Christian John Lillis, a New Yorker who lost his 56-year-old mother, Peggy, to the infection two years ago. "It's outrageous."
Indeed, while the medical community has cut rates for virtually all other health care infections in recent years, C. diff hovers at all-time highs.
"Looking at the data for C. diff and looking at what's being presented at infection control meetings, we're not doing a very good job," says William Jarvis, who spent 17 years heading the health care infection division at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "We know what to do (to lower rates). It's not rocket science. And we know the barrier is cost."
To assess the C. diff epidemic, USA TODAY conducted dozens of interviews and reviewed an array of state and federal data, government studies and academic papers. The reporting revealed:

*&#8226;Deaths and illnesses are much higher than reports have shown.* In March, the CDC said in a report that the infection kills 14,000 people a year. But that estimate is based on death certificates, which often don't list the infection when patients die from complications, such as kidney failure.
Hospital billing data collected by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality shows that more than 9% of C. diff-related hospitalizations end in death -- nearly five times the rate for other hospital stays. That adds up to more than 30,000 fatalities among the 347,000 C. diff hospitalizations in 2010. Thousands more patients are treated in nursing homes, clinics and doctors' offices.
"We're talking in the range of close to 500,000 total cases a year," says Cliff McDonald, a C. diff expert and senior science adviser in the CDC's Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion. And annual fatalities "may well be &#8230; as high as 30,000."

*&#8226;Health care facilities have stopped short of doing what's necessary.* Many hospitals and nursing homes lack programs to track and limit the use of antibiotics that allow C. diff to thrive. And studies show that patients' rooms often aren't cleaned sufficiently.
During the recession, many health care facilities cut spending on infection control and housekeeping, and they often lack a tightly coordinated approach to track and kill the bacteria.
C. diff is "a big concern," but limited Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements strain budgets, says Nancy Foster, the American Hospital Association's vice president for quality and patient safety. "Nurses on the front line, pharmacists that provide crucial medication, therapists that provide hands-on treatment, cleaning technicians that need to be there to keep rooms clean and infection rates down -- there's no good place to cut."

&#8226;*Other countries are racing ahead of the U.S. in battling the bacteria.* In England, the government requires hospitals to report all C. diff cases, underpinning a regulatory campaign that has slashed infections more than 50% since 2008. A new C. diff reporting rule for U.S. hospitals isn't scheduled to take effect until 2013.
England and other European countries also require health care institutions to have antibiotic control programs and meet targets for reducing C. diff. There are no such rules for U.S. facilities: The federal government doesn't track antibiotic use in hospitals, nursing homes and other care settings, and there is no penalty under Medicare and Medicaid for facilities that have high C. diff rates.
Thirty-four states now require hospitals to publicly report their rates of infections, but fewer than a quarter of those include C. diff, according to an analysis by Julie Reagan at HAI Focus, an organization that studies health care infections. Reporting requirements for nursing homes are even less common.
In 2009, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services launched an "action plan" to reduce six high-priority infections, including C. diff. Infection rates for five of those have dropped significantly, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA.
Rates for C. diff, targeted for a 30% reduction by 2013, haven't budged.
"As it relates to C. diff, absolutely, we have a lot of work to do," says Don Wright, deputy assistant secretary of health and leader of the prevention initiative. "It's important to take lessons learned. &#8230; We will begin to see a reduction if those are followed closely."
One lesson came in 2003. That's when the Environmental Protection Agency, which regulates hospital disinfectants, learned that none of its approved products actually killed C. diff spores -- though many claimed on their labels that they were effective against the bacteria. Five years passed, with C. diff rates surging, before the agency ordered manufacturers to remove the claims and began to identify new disinfectants that work.
"The agency blew it," says Jim Jones, EPA's acting assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, which handles disinfectant regulation. "We missed something we totally had the capacity to catch."

*'I couldn't move'*
Like most C. diff patients, Bailey Quishenberry's symptoms began with severe diarrhea. Within days, her intestines were shutting down. Her colon was so swollen that it pushed pressure up to her lungs, making it difficult to breathe.
Bailey's doctors at California's Loma Linda University Medical Center diagnosed her with toxic megacolon, a sometimes-fatal complication that often requires removal of the colon and use of a colostomy bag.
"It was so painful, I couldn't think, I couldn't keep track of what I was saying. &#8230; I couldn't move," she recalls. "It was like &#8230; 'I wish this would be over and I could just die.'"
With a colectomy looming, Bailey's mother, Shannon, persuaded the doctors to try an unusual alternative, a fecal transplant. The goal is to repopulate the colon with healthy bacteria by implanting a feces from a relative, often via a colonoscopy. Within days, Bailey's blood white cell count fell, the swelling in her abdomen receded. After a month in the hospital, she was allowed to go home. Bailey's ordeal would continue, but she survived. Many patients aren't so fortunate.
Regina Mulligan was diagnosed with C. diff after entering a New York hospital for heart surgery and died from complications three months later at age 83.
"When someone you love goes in for something like heart surgery, you don't expect that they'll die from an infection because they are in the hospital," says Mary Schultz, Mulligan's daughter. "At one point the doctors told us that she had C. diff, but no one ever explained what it was or told us how deadly it could be."
Kimberly Ratliff's baby girl, Charlee, lived only eight months before dying with the infection in 2010 after heart surgery. The medical community doesn't talk about C. diff because it wants to downplay the problem, she says.
"I wish doctors were more forthcoming. &#8230; You don't learn about it until after it's too late."

*How to attack the problem*
There's no mystery to cutting C. diff rates.
The spore-forming bacteria exist throughout the environment: water, soil, human and animal feces. It typically sickens people taking certain stomach medicines or antibiotics, which diminish healthy bacteria in the gut as they attack infections. When levels of healthy bacteria get low, C. diff can take over, producing toxins that cause intense diarrhea, often with grave complications.
*The germ thrives in settings where antibiotics are in wide use, and its proliferation has accelerated as a new, hyper-virulent strain has emerged over the past decade. *C. diff spores spread through fecal contamination: They get on people's hands, often from bathroom fixtures, and move to other surfaces by touch, from light switches to bed rails to tables and trays. The tough-to-kill spores resist many disinfectants and can survive for months. Once they're on patients' hands, it's a short trip to their mouths -- and their intestines.
The challenge is twofold: control the use of antibiotics that allow C. diff to flourish, and prevent the bacteria's spread from infected patients via dirty hands, dirty rooms or dirty equipment.

*Some U.S. hospitals have confronted those challenges head-on:*
&#8226;In Cincinnati, the Jewish Hospital-Mercy Health slashed its high C. diff rate by half in less than a year by adopting stricter antibiotic controls and new room-cleaning protocols. The program costs the 209-bed hospital about $10,000 a year.
&#8226;In Pittsburgh, the 792-bed UPMC Presbyterian cut C. diff 71% from 2000 to 2006 with new cleaning protocols, better identification and isolation of infected patients, and antibiotic controls.
&#8226;In Oak Lawn, Ill., the 695-bed Advocate Christ Medical Center reduced C. diff cases 55% by retraining housekeepers, coordinating care with infection prevention specialists, and adopting new disinfection standards for high-touch areas.
Although such strategies are well documented, many facilities don't use them, says Wright, the head of the federal infection-prevention initiative. "One of the tasks at hand is to ensure that these practices that have been shown to have success are broadly disseminated and broadly applied."
Standing in the way are concerns about costs, staffing and the complexity of creating and implementing new procedures that require interdisciplinary teams to work together.
Hospitals have cut housekeeping budgets up to 25% in recent years, according to the Association for the Healthcare Environment, an arm of the American Hospital Association. And the group's surveys show that many hospitals spend as little as 18 minutes cleaning a patient's room. That's well below the 25-30 minutes the group's studies have identified as optimal.
*There is also limited tracking of antibiotics. In 2010, about 42% of infection-control specialists nationwide said their facility had no antibiotic stewardship program, based on a survey by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. Such programs typically track the use of antibiotics to ensure proper use, which can reduce opportunities for infection. The challenge is more daunting in nursing homes, where antibiotics are prolific, staffing often is thin and it's tougher to isolate patients.*

*'All hands on deck'*
Three weeks after Bailey Quishenberry left the hospital, her symptoms returned -- diarrhea, high fever and white blood count, distended colon. She went back in the hospital for eight days and, after another fecal transplant, her symptoms subsided and she was released again.
During those weeks at Bailey's bedside, her mother, Shannon, became a self-educated C. diff expert. She got her own bleach wipes to clean Bailey's room. She made sure visitors wore gowns and gloves. She enforced hand-washing rules.
As hospitals and nursing homes struggle with tight budgets and limited staffing, patient advocates say its critical that the public become more engaged in minimizing infection risks.
"We need all hands on deck, including patients," says Pat Mastors, whose father, Bob Stegeman, died at 76 after developing toxic megacolon from C. diff. Mastors was "shocked" when she learned how common the infection is, and she helped pass a Rhode Island law requiring hospitals to advise patients on protecting themselves.
*"Hospitals don't want to tell patients the room might be contaminated,"* says Betsy McCaughey, founder of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths. The committee prints cards with steps patients can take to minimize infection risks, and they offer the cards free to hospitals, McCaughey says. But "many hospitals don't want them."

*Money, staffing challenges*
The big challenge in curbing C. diff is getting all the players to work together -- from health care administrators and the government regulators that guide them to doctors and nurses and the housekeeping staffs that clean up behind them.
"We're kind of in the early stages in a more coordinated response," says Arjun Srinivasan, associate director of the CDC's Healthcare Associated Infection Prevention Program. "There are simply many, many more moving parts that have to be addressed."
Other health care infections have been stemmed by ensuring that certain medical procedures are done properly. Catheter-related infections were cut by getting doctors to change protocols for installing the devices. Infections linked to surgical incisions and ventilators were reduced by getting doctors and nurses to alter practices.
Strategies to combat C. diff are more complicated and costly. Successful initiatives often require interdisciplinary teams. Pharmacists and medical directors tackle antibiotic protocols. Medical staff look at how infected patients are isolated and handled. Environmental-services supervisors review cleaning practices. And administrators have to deal with the costs.
Though infection-control programs are shown to save facilities money in the long run, Jarvis, the former CDC infection-control chief, says administrators often balk at the upfront investments because they worry about operating margins.
"Saving money is not the same as making money," he adds.
Meanwhile, "a lot of opportunities are being missed," says Christian Lillis, who set up the Peggy Foundation with his brother, Liam, after their mother's C. diff death to help curb infection rates.
*In a 2009 survey of 2,000 infection prevention specialists from U.S. hospitals, 41% said their facility had cut spending on infection control.* In a 2010 follow-up by APIC, 53% said their institutions were taking new steps to cut C. diff, but most said more staff was needed.
The C. diff reporting rule that takes effect next year should spur facilities to boost their efforts, says McDonald, the C. diff expert at the CDC.
"Having people track these data and report probably does the most to move this whole (prevention) yardstick forward," McDonald says. Health care facilities "care about their reputation."
But there are few other regulatory incentives for facilities to improve. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has begun reducing reimbursement to hospitals for care tied to certain health care infections it deems preventable, such as those related to catheter use. But C. diff is not on that list.
It's difficult to hold facilities accountable for C. diff because it can be impossible to know where a patient was infected, CMS spokeswoman Ellen Griffith says. As patients move between hospitals, nursing homes and other health care settings, a case diagnosed at a particular site may not have been contracted there, she adds.
That hasn't been a roadblock in England, where hospitals must meet strict targets for reducing infection rates or face sanctions. In fiscal 2011-12 through March, the country had just 18,000 C. diff cases -- 17% below the prior year.
The British experience "has shown that substantial reductions are possible," says Don Goldmann, senior vice president at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and a professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. "We can do better, and we really need to."
A 'transformation' for Bailey
Last August, three months after Bailey's C. diff ordeal began, her symptoms returned a third time. She got another fecal transplant -- it often takes several -- and improved steadily.
By last fall, Bailey's colon size was normal, her white count good, the fevers and nausea less frequent. Her gastroenterologist was impressed, telling her he'd never seen such a severe C. diff case where the patient's colon wasn't removed. In March, Bailey finally returned to school after missing six months. In April, she played Eve in an Easter play.
"We see such a rebirth in our young lady," Shannon wrote this spring in the final entry of an online journal chronicling her daughter's illness. "It is an amazing transformation."
At Loma Linda medical center, C. diff rates have declined and officials continue taking steps to reduce them, including changes in room-cleaning procedures, antibiotic controls and testing protocols for patients showing C. diff symptoms.
"We formalized things we were already doing and started adding new things," says James Pappas, patient safety officer. "We've seen our rates drop in half, so that certainly makes us happy. But &#8230; if you're having one case a year, that's still a problem."
Last month, Bailey and her family went on vacation. She kayaked, hiked, swam. But Shannon kept C. diff medication close at hand. The infection still lurks in Bailey's gut, held in check by the healthy bacteria that have come back to the fore.
"I still worry," Shannon says. "If Bailey starts to get sick, she goes to deathly ill immediately.
"For us, it will be a lifestyle forever."
Contributing: Hannah Morgan
From: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/NEWS/usaedition/2012-08-16-Hospital-Infections_CV_U.htm


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## Boris (Nov 18, 2010)

Doctors are saying: the disease is easier to prevent than to treat them, therefore I think the motdaugrnds's approach (post #7)
is more practical (wisely) than mekasmom's approach (post #27). Nevertheless, I believe in the benefits of silver too.

The simple test shows antibacterial benefits of garlic versus my ordinary organic honey and manuka honey.
On February 03, 2013 my ordinary organic honey, manuka (15+) honey and garlic were added into whole milk:









The picture below shows how bacteria developed in four different samples. And as you can see - Garlic is
a Winner, probably because Phytoncides of garlic are capable to kill various bacteria ( probably not all!) 
on considerable distance for a long time - up to 270 hours. 









I think everybody can conduct a similar test at home to see the power of fresh raw Garlic.
And you can ask your doctor if Motdaugrnds's approach is good for you.

Boris Romanov


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Goodness!! I would hate to have someone scrutinize my personal experience!!


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## Karen (Apr 17, 2002)

There will be no debating in this forum of other's experience. Their experience is their experience. Whether it is correct, scientifically impossible or not, all in their head, or anything else -- it's still their experience and should not be questioned, made fun of, nor disputed. 

Remember what works for one may not work for another and often there is no evidence to support what works -- sometimes it just does without explaination. That's what makes alternative health so difficult to prove and disprove and this forum isn't for nay sayers. 

Just respect others, don't expect the proof. Either accept or don't accept their experiences and move on with what works for you -- or infractions will be handed out.


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## GBov (May 4, 2008)

mekasmom said:


> It is wise to have some pure silver on hand. You can get the small 1g bars or coins on Ebay cheaply. But everyone should have at least 2 pieces of silver to make their own colloidal silver if they are in a bind with no other option. You don't need a special $200 generator. *Just hook it up with an adapter or batteries straight* if you have to. It will still generate. But everyone should have some silver just for emergency purposes.
> http://www.ebay.com/sch/Bars-Rounds-/39489/i.html?_ipg=200&_from=R40&_nkw=1+gram+silver


Please could you explain a bit more?


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## Boris (Nov 18, 2010)

Karen said:


> ...Remember what works for one may not work for another...


I fully support such approach. Therefore I stated: "..And you can ask your doctor if Motdaugrnds's approach is good for you."

Boris Romanov


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