Superbugs spied off the Antarctic coast

BACTERIA that can resist nearly all antibiotics have been found in Antarctic seawater.

A quarter of the samples of Escherichia coli bacteria carried genes that made an enzyme called ESBL, which can destroy penicillin, cephalosporins and related antibiotics

Bacteria with these genes can be even more dangerous than the better known superbug MRSA. That's because the genes sit on a mobile chunk of DNA that can be acquired by many species of bacteria, increasing the incidence of drug-resistant infections such as the E. coli outbreak last year in Germany.

The discovery of bacteria that are massively resistant to antibiotics won't make the front page these days - but when it happens in Antarctica, it is time to sit up and take notice.

The superbugs aren't infecting penguins - yet - or even troubling the researchers who carried them there in their intestines and unwittingly deposited them in the sea via their sewage outfalls. But the discovery is further evidence that antibiotic resistance is no longer just a medical problem - it is an environmental one too. And that makes fighting it much harder.


SOURCE - NEW SCIENTIST

26 January 2012 by Debora MacKenzie

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[color=dodgerblue]Maybe the fact that they now know what it is about the super bugs that makes them so resistant will help them figure out how to fight them.

I am going to school for nursing... and these bugs scare the crap out of me.

reply to post by daryllyn

Good cleanliness is something lacking severely in hospitals these days. They blame superbugs but that is not the reason. It's bad cleaning practices. Bleach (and other chemicals) kill all germs. Thankfully a Dutch virologist has created enough mutated bird flu to kill half the planet, these bugs won't stand a chance when they release that.

After doing some digging around for another thread I came across this,
There are liquid water surface lakes on Antarctica, which I did'nt know.
But they also have bacterial life as well.

Haloarchaea are a distinct evolutionary branch of the Archaea, and are considered extremophiles. The haloarchaea from Deep Lake are naturally adapted to cold, nutrient-limited and high saline level conditions that would kill almost any other life

www.jgi.doe.gov

If you're able to fend off staph aureus on your own for instance, MRSA isn't anymore of a danger. Most healthy people can be exposed to some of these pathogens and not have any problems, that's the norm. The problem is when you have susceptibility to infection and in a lot of cases, these pathogens are almost opportunistic. In hospitals, lots of susceptibility to infection for numerous reasons that are unique to that population.

reply to post by B3lz3buth


Wasn't there a guy who was recently busted for selling "Designer Ice Cubes" made from Antarctic Glaciers?

Sounds like a possible conspiracy to me.

*Rolls out the O-Zone generator* I would like to see if it can survive in a ozonated environment.

reply to post by TDawgRex


Chilean Caught Stealing Five Tons of Glacier Ice

Police in the southern Chilean city of Cochrane arrested a man who attempted to steal over five tons of ice from the Jorge Montt Glacier, 1,700 kilometers south of the capital Santiago, El Mercurio daily reported on Wednesday.

Ice theft is considered a major crime in Chile as the Jorge Montt is one of the most rapidly receding glaciers.

AND THEN

Police think the ice was to be sold to Santiago bars for mixing cocktails

The seized ice, valued at an estimated $6,000, will be used for irrigating drought-hit local crops in Cochrane

So its for human consommation, fields irrigation etc...and there is the danger, stealing / using ice from a contaminated glacier.

And then this ice is mixed with cocktails or sprayed on crops, a great way to start a pandemics of MSRA Superbugs.


SOURCE

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reply to post by B3lz3buth


I wasn't aware that it is illegal to take glacier ice?

I guess there is it.

huh.

Glacier ice makes AWESOME ice cubes for drinks.
I had a chunk in my freezer for a while when I was living in Alaska. Pure blue water....PURE.... awesome stuff.

Star & Flag
2nd

Stealing glacier ice lol. So what? What is the big deal? The glaciers are expanding anyway someones gotta keep them in check

reply to post by Shrukin89

What is the big deal?

MONEY --> The seized ice, valued at an estimated $6,000

The glaciers are expanding anyway

Really ? --> the Jorge Montt is one of the most rapidly receding glaciers.


RE-CEDE
intr.v. re·ced·ed, re·ced·ing, re·cedes
1. To move back or away from a limit, point, or mark
2. To slope backward.
3. To become or seem to become fainter or more distant
4. To withdraw or retreat.


P.S : Glad you came back around here jazz10, your threads always make me think alot.

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Originally posted by B3lz3buth
reply to post by TDawgRex

 

Chilean Caught Stealing Five Tons of Glacier Ice

Police in the southern Chilean city of Cochrane arrested a man who attempted to steal over five tons of ice from the Jorge Montt Glacier, 1,700 kilometers south of the capital Santiago, El Mercurio daily reported on Wednesday.

Ice theft is considered a major crime in Chile as the Jorge Montt is one of the most rapidly receding glaciers.

AND THEN

Police think the ice was to be sold to Santiago bars for mixing cocktails

The seized ice, valued at an estimated $6,000, will be used for irrigating drought-hit local crops in Cochrane

So its for human consommation, fields irrigation etc...and there is the danger, stealing / using ice from a contaminated glacier.

And then this ice is mixed with cocktails or sprayed on crops, a great way to start a pandemics of MSRA Superbugs.


SOURCE

.

edit on 3/2/2012 by B3lz3buth because: (no reason given)

And here people are worried about flouride in the water.

Yep, watch the right hand, don't pay attention to the left.

He took it from a shrinking glacier to sell to the public.
yeah, can't do that....

reply to post by B3lz3buth


Who here thinks they'll be ordered by TPTB to take samples of those bacteria so as to reproduce that enzyme?

It would make bioweaponry that much stronger...

reply to post by Starchild23


You can bet your life that the samples are already at some bio4 Pentagon / DARPA labs...

They already have strains that kills 99% of all lifeform they are designed to target...but why not ? adding some ESBL enzyme to the mix cannot be more bad anyway, and maybe they will finally got the missing 1% kill with it.

The ESBL enzyme cannot make strains more contagious, just make them untreatable...

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My bad didn't read the article... Just too used to living in a country where we walk on ice.

Just think of the superbugs that are trapped in the lake they are about to expose. I hope they have a quarantine perimeter setup when they crack that baby open

Originally posted by B3lz3buth

BACTERIA that can resist nearly all antibiotics have been found in Antarctic seawater.

A quarter of the samples of Escherichia coli bacteria carried genes that made an enzyme called ESBL, which can destroy penicillin, cephalosporins and related antibiotics

Bacteria with these genes can be even more dangerous than the better known superbug MRSA. That's because the genes sit on a mobile chunk of DNA that can be acquired by many species of bacteria, increasing the incidence of drug-resistant infections such as the E. coli outbreak last year in Germany.

The discovery of bacteria that are massively resistant to antibiotics won't make the front page these days - but when it happens in Antarctica, it is time to sit up and take notice.

The superbugs aren't infecting penguins - yet - or even troubling the researchers who carried them there in their intestines and unwittingly deposited them in the sea via their sewage outfalls. But the discovery is further evidence that antibiotic resistance is no longer just a medical problem - it is an environmental one too. And that makes fighting it much harder.


SOURCE - NEW SCIENTIST

26 January 2012 by Debora MacKenzie

.

edit on 2/2/2012 by B3lz3buth because: (no reason given)

This thread may be related:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Russian team drilling 2 miles below ice to GIANT lake heated geothermally. They were about to pierce the ice dome and now haven't been heard from for over 5 days according to fox news.