
The antibiotic industry is broken - prostoalex
https://www.economist.com/leaders/2019/05/04/the-antibiotic-industry-is-broken
======
superpermutat0r
Resistant strains rarely come from antibiotics use on humans. Antibiotics
abuse in agriculture is what brings rise to superbugs. No better way to
develop them than billions of Petri dishes born every year and badly
administered end of the line antibiotics.

~~~
hvidgaard
Antibiotics have a side effect of drastically increasing growth in certain
livestock. Unless it's heavily regulated, it will continue to be used. When
consumers can do is buying the significantly more expensive meat options that
are antibiotic free, or simply buy less meat.

~~~
gingabriska
Does it also work on humans? Does taking a lot of antibiotics since birth
makes a human stronger and taller?

I've never seen bodybuilders taking antibiotics for size tho tho heard of
plenty of steroid and protein/testosterone stuff.

But I know some chicken farmers in my neighborhood who double the chicken size
with antibiotics.

~~~
nicwilson
> Does it also work on humans? Does taking a lot of antibiotics since birth
> makes a human stronger and taller?

Quite possibly. It will also bugger up your immune system maturation
spectacularly. That doesn't matter so much for animals destined for the
slaughterhouse, but it does for you because viruses aren't affected by
antibiotics.

~~~
gingabriska
But what if we consume those chickens, isn't that antibiotic somehow going to
end up inside us sooner or later?

And that will indirectly influence our size?

Is there any pattern of size gain/growth in humans since we started using
antibiotics on farm animals?

One thing always have been mysterious to me is that growth/size is attributed
to nutrition/genes/workout but I know some villages (more like distant tribes
with no connection to modern world) who practise old style farming and heading
livestock without any modern methods and they've plenty to eat but still
they've not gotten taller or bigger. They've sheeps, goats, chickens, plenty
of fruits and grains in their diet, lots of physical work but no size gain.

And if the person from the same tribes comes to the US as a kid, you can see
them get taller/bigger then their siblings back home. So it can't be their
genetic limit.

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thiago_fm
Well, people shouldn't be buying antibiotics without a doctors note.

Doctors shouldn't be prescribing antibiotics unless there is a big real need.

Problem solved.

In Germany they do this. No doctor ever prescribes antibiotics. I've used to
hate this fact, as most of adults "I NEED TO WORK!!!!11". Here in Germany they
are a bit more open to people being sick and staying at home, but some
companies are pushing the boundaries, such as, Amazon have some bullying
system for people who call in sick, etc. But overall, 500% better than the US?

For instance, at the moment now I'm sick and I've been sick for like almost a
month and they don't give me Antibiotics. Back in Brazil, where I've lived,
they would just give me it and I would be "healthy" again in 2 days or less.

It is a complex problem. To be honest, most of the usage is probably because
people don't want to be sick for too many days, as this is terrible in this
sick career ladder where if you don't take antibiotics and is sick for a few
weeks, and your peers take it and also put some ritalin on top, you have no
chance to compete.

Maybe governments & institutions should control MUCH MORE drugs which are
clearly being abused just for the sake of making people rat racing. This
creates a very unfair field for whoever do the right thing, which is staying
at home and letting the body do what it should.

But this can only be changed if people find it important, for politicians that
live off your taxes, they would rather help you to work to death.

~~~
otabdeveloper1
> Well, people shouldn't be buying antibiotics without a doctors note.

Why? It's not rocket science, and it's not like this is a complex decision
that you couldn't adequately make after 15 of Internet searching.

The fake mystique imparted on general practitioner doctors is a toxic force
for bad in the world.

> Doctors shouldn't be prescribing antibiotics unless there is a big real
> need.

The doctor doesn't know if there is a "big real need", and in fact cannot.

The doctor is just running off a standard checklist for one of among 50 almost
exactly alike cases during his workday.

~~~
bildung
_> Why? It's not rocket science, and it's not like this is a complex decision
that you couldn't adequately make after 15 of Internet searching._

If you've got a tonsillitis (one of the most common reasons for getting
antibiotics), how to you find out whether it's the bacterial or the viral
type?

~~~
otabdeveloper1
Presumably, by getting a bacterial test. That's done in a lab and isn't a
doctor's job.

~~~
mschuster91
Don't need a lab test for this one, there's a swipe test to determine if it's
viral or bacterial.

Source: had about 40 or more in my life, was prone to tonsilitis for ages.

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neonate
[https://outline.com/KKTLmL](https://outline.com/KKTLmL)

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AFascistWorld
My relatives would rush to buy the "anti-inflammatory" medicines -
Cephalosporins plus some traditional Chinese medicines - whenever they have
sign of a cold, which seemed to occur quite often for them. And it's a popular
belief.

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prittgluestick
Would widespread use of synthetic meat solve the antibiotics issue (as well as
help with global warming)? I have only researched synthetic meat a little bit
and am wondering if anyone has more concrete information and opinions.

------
adsfqwop
Here is another factor to consider that I think many are overlooking: our
steadily increasing RF-exposure may be altering the growth rate and antibiotic
susceptibility of bacteria and other microorganisms.

I don't think many are considering this possibility, and I don't like what I
find. It seems RF-radiation, even at non-thermal exposure levels, is able to
both alter the growth rate and antibiotic interaction of microorganisms.

"Extremely High Frequency Electromagnetic Radiation Enforces Bacterial Effects
of Inhibitors and Antibiotics":

[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51408122_Extremely_...](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51408122_Extremely_High_Frequency_Electromagnetic_Radiation_Enforces_Bacterial_Effects_of_Inhibitors_and_Antibiotics)

"Evaluation of the Effect of Radiofrequency Radiation Emitted From Wi-Fi
Router and Mobile Phone Simulator on the Antibacterial Susceptibility of
Pathogenic Bacteria Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli":

[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5298474/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5298474/)

"Effect of radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation on physiological features
of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain UCM Y-517":

[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15456218](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15456218)

"Preliminary results on the non-thermal effects of 200-350 GHz radiation on
the growth rate of S. cerevisiae cells in microcolonies":

[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12452574](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12452574)

~~~
Nasrudith
That study which mentions routers and wifi seems questionably controlled -
increased exposure time decreasing inhibition radius? I would expect that from
just time passing would do that - it only mentions the radius shrinking not
shrinking at a faster rate. To be frank that sounds like a high school level
procedure error.

Plus even if taken at face value they admit they only notice the effects on
certain strains at certain phases.

~~~
adsfqwop
Even if it is on certain strains, it means we need to consider what it means
on a larger scale. What other strains? What other frequencies?

By not considering the possible implications of this interaction, IF TRUE, you
may be overlooking something important which needs further study.

Or I hope you are not suggesting we just cross our fingers, forget about it,
and _hope_ these were all just "high school level errors"?

