NEWS: Move over H5N1, Drug-resistant TB the Newest Harbinger of Global Pandemic

The Centers for Disease Control announced Thursday concern for an untreatable form of tuberculosis that is widely distributed across the world. Known as XDR TB, or extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, seventy-four cases have been reported in the United States. More than 350 cases have been reported worldwide.



This is not good, to say the least. Some officials are calling this disease a "death sentence". Also, found in the articles, is a description of how doctors are having to resort to the pre-antibiotic days of surgery, removing chunks of diseased lung tissue, because the antibiotic resistant strain leaves them with little choice in managing the disease... This is ugly, indeed. :shk:

There is already a serious problem of "normal" TB in Africa. See FredT's thread:

Africa's Tuberculosis Crisis

As an ancillary discussion to drug resistant bacteria, see also this ATS thread:

Pharmaceutical Metabolites in Wastewater

Related News Links:
www.alertnet.org
www.freep.com
www.freep.com
www.boston.com

Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
Africa's Tuberculosis Crisis



[edit on 25-3-2006 by loam]

The article doesn't mention the the link between TB and HIV, but it is an important one.

www.tballiance.org
GF+
www.csa.za.org
Google Search

Many diseases no longer respond to treatment - more and more microbes are antibiotic- and anti-viral- resistant.

One of the more threatening situations is what happens when several diseases infect the same host...

One of the things I don't understand is what pharmaceuticals are doing with research money given to them by our government.

Why looking for cures is not such a priority for research in the US.

How do you know they are not looking Marg?

Are you speaking with every spokesperson that work for the pharmaceutical companies?

Hmm, that really, really sucks.

I wonder how long until a cure for this new version is made.

Muabbid,

Are they? looking for cures? I remember a complain in congress a couple years back in which the issue was about the tax payer money that pharmaceuticals get from the government and what they used it for.

Their excuse was that it cost money to advertise drugs and that is where the money was going.

Funny but I sat in my living room with my husband watching that issue in the house of representatives.

Again I ask how do you know they are making an effort to find cures?

Treatments are more profitable.

Unfortunately, I don't think treatments OR cures are in play here.

With so few cases, there really isn't a commercial incentive to look at anything specific for this drug resistant strain of TB... and without serious government attention (well, the CDC's announcement is a start) there will be little public funding...

Let's just hope this thing blows over and does not spread.


[edit on 25-3-2006 by loam]

Here is the actual CDC Notice:

Increase in Multi-Drug Resistant TB Presents Serious Challenges

Other new CDC research reports for the first time on the worldwide emergence of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) TB – or TB that is resistant to at least two main first-line drugs and additionally to three or more of the six classes of second-line drugs.2 From 2000 to 2004, 2 percent of TB patients whose isolates were tested in a survey of a worldwide laboratory network were classified as XDR TB. Over the five-year period in this survey, XDR TB increased from 5 percent of MDR TB cases in 2000 to 6.5 percent in 2004 (excluding South Korea). In the industrialized nations in this survey (including the United States), XDR TB increased from 3 percent of MDR TB cases in 2000 to 11 percent in 2004.

The emergence of XDR TB is cause for concern because it is widely distributed geographically, including in the United States, and renders patients virtually untreatable with available drugs.

Importantly, the emergence of MDR TB 15 years ago was a harbinger of a pandemic; this scenario must be prevented from happening with XDR TB.

Note that if MDR TB was a "harbinger of a pandemic", what do you think XDR TB would be?

[edit on 26-3-2006 by loam]

Might just be me being incredibly thick here but i was always under the impression that the human race is extremely unlikely to be wiped out by a virus such as tb or bird flu. I personally feel that we all live in a 'survival of the fittest world' where each and every animal/ plant all compete to live. If a virus adapted to make itself kill its source then surely the virus beiong alive would also die to thus being very unlikely.

I know im open to serious criticism here so go easy.. just think it's a point worth examining!!

BTW loam. Did you notice that the new H5N1 variant has a fatality rate of 91% ?

But you're right - we're pretty much back to the dark ages for medical care. Modern medicines don't work - not for TB , bird flu or any of the other antibiotic and anti-viral resistant microbes that appear every day.

We need to get back to living like our grandparents and great grandparents did - boil the living heck out of everything, including our water - and stock up on herbal remedies.


.

It is things like this as opposed to things like hte bird flu that worry me most...its not what your're looking for that bites ya on the ass.

Scary scary scary

I have a few contacts up in the SF Public Health Department. i will see If they can give me anything

This doesn't look good.

Fears of 'extreme' TB strain

Health experts are to hold an emergency meeting in Johannesburg this week, following the discovery of a deadly new strain of tuberculosis.
The strain - known as extreme drug-resistant TB - has horrified World Health Organisation doctors. In one outbreak in South Africa, 52 of 53 patients died within weeks of becoming infected.

'This new strain leaves us facing a nightmare,' said Paul Nunn, coordinator of the WHO's drug-resistance unit. 'It is resistant to nearly every drug in our arsenal. We are now on the threshold of the appearance of a strain of TB that is resistant to every medicine known to science.'

The strain was originally discovered by scientists earlier this year. They looked at cases of multiple drug-resistant TB - which has developed over the past decade in many parts of the world - and discovered that among these a worrying new 'extreme' strain had evolved.

More...

So this is what will thin out the population. It sounds like a very efficient killer highly transmittable, and couple weeks to fatality.
I find it very hard to believe that after all these decades with all the advances and money made that we still have not conquered diseases of the past. This one once/if (hopefully never) strikes the more affluent and they start keeling over will cause a gold rush hopefully by some pharmaceutical, bio-tech companies.
In the meantime isnt there a overpopulation issue according to some pillars in Georgia.

Bump.


Forced quarantine is being recommended for XDR-TB victims in South Africa.

...A whole different issue:

Forced Isolation Until Death: The Pandemic Policy Now on Trial in the Court of Public Opinion


This has become very scary imo, not just the disease, but the fact that it creates the lever needed to move right into full out population control - with our support.

reply to post by loam

Let's just hope this thing blows over and does not spread.

Sorry loam. Just had to quote that tasty bit.

Bump.

Just a bit confused.

I havnt had any anti biotic, penacyllin (spelling) treatment for at least 15 years.

Does that mean if i do take them they will work? as my body has not really been introduced to them before?

Might have this completely wrong. Any advice?

Anyway, ive got my supply of MMS and collodial silver,

Thanks

reply to post by jehova620


When a bacteria/virus is drug resistant, it doesn't matter if you haven't had those drugs before.
What it means is that there is a strain that those drugs do not effect, so if someone contracts that strain, then the drugs that it is resistant too can not be used for treatment.

So, because people have lived on anti biotics for years, when clearly they didnt need them in most cases they have affected my chances of fighting off a serious infection i may contract? Is that how it works?

I purposly steered away from these drugs. Pah. If this is the case i wish i had taken them now and saved myself a load of pain over the years.

This sounds serious as well.