Tag Archives: health

New “Superbug” Gene Found in People and Pigs in China Makes Bacteria Antibiotic-Resistant

Scientists in China have made the “alarming” discovery that another line of defense against infection may have been breached.  In research studies led by Hua Liu from the South China Agricultural University, they have identified infectious bacteria that may be resistant to antibiotics.

The University published their work in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal finding the gene called mcr-1, on plasmids – mobile DNA that can be easily copied and transferred between different bacteria.

According to several news reports, these untreatable superbugs originated in animals before spreading to humans and are highly resistant to antibiotics known as polymyxins, our last line of defense against disease when all else fails.

They include E.coli, the pneumonia bug Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa which can trigger serious lung, blood, and surgical infections.

Professor Nigel Brown, president of Britain’s Microbiology Society, said: “This discovery that resistance to polymyxins can be transferred between bacteria is alarming.

“Now that it has been demonstrated that resistance can be transferred between bacteria and across bacterial species, another line of defense against infection is in danger of being breached.

“We need careful surveillance to track the potential global spread of this resistance, and investment in research to discover new drugs with different modes of action.”

According to  Reuters, researchers warned that these findings suggest “the progression from extensive drug resistance to pandrug resistance is inevitable.”

“(And) although currently confined to China, mcr-1 is likely to emulate other resistance genes … and spread worldwide.”

Some Antibiotics to Blame for Turning MRSA into a “Superbug”

According to a recent study published in Cell Host & Microbe, the first antibiotics used to usually treat MRSA could actually make the skin infection worse by triggering the body’s pathogen defense system.

The bacterium Staphylococcus aureus – also known as a “staph infection” – is carried on the skin or in the nose of most healthy people. Nature World Report states that 25% of the population is colonized with staph, but only 1% of the population is colonized with MRSA. MRSA is a form of Staphylococcus aureus, but it is resistant to methicillin along with other medicines.

“Individuals infected with MRSA who receive a beta-lactam antibiotic–one of the most common types of antibiotics–could end up being sicker than if they received no treatment at all,” George Liu of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and co-senior study author said in a press release.

“Our findings underscore the urgent need to improve awareness of MRSA and rapidly diagnose these infections to avoid prescribing antibiotics that could put patients’ lives at risk,” he added.

Tech Times reports that the study showed that MRSA not only responds to beta-lactam antibiotics, but it will also adapt to them, which makes the disease stronger. The antibiotics weaken the bacteria’s enzymes that produces cell walls. However, the study found that some antibiotics were less effective, allowing the bacteria to rebuild a weaker cell wall. When this happens, the body’s immune system goes into overdrive, trying to destroy the weak cell wall, according to the Huffington Post.

“In situations where there is a lot of infection, this highly aggressive response can cause extensive inflammation and tissue damage, effectively making the consequences of the infection worse,” Liu said.

The challenge for physicians lies in prescribing the right antibiotics for people who have staph infections, or worse, MRSA. It can take a few days to determine if a specific antibiotic is going to make the infection worse.

And while the study did find these disturbing results, the researchers only performed these tests on rats. They say that they will need to conduct trials on humans before they can nail down the correct antibiotics to use in the treatment of staph and MRSA.

Dr. Don and Mary Colbert Returning to Morningside

Jim and Lori Bakker have known Dr. Don and Mary Colbert for years and have trusted them with their own health and wellbeing.  On Wednesday November 11th, they are thrilled to have the Colberts return to the Jim Bakker Show.  

For over twenty years, Dr. Colbert has practiced medicine in Central Florida and has been board certified in Family Practice for over 25 years focusing on anti-aging and integrative medicine.

He has ministered health and healing to thousands and is a frequent guest with John Hagee, Joyce Meyer, Kenneth Copeland and other Christian leaders. He has also been featured on The Dr. Oz Show, Fox News, ABC World News, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, BBC, Reader’s Digest, News Week, Prevention Magazine, and many others.

Dr. Colbert is also a New York Times Best Selling Author and has written over 40 books as well as offered seminars and talks on a variety of topics including “How to Improve Your Health” and “The Effects of Stress and How to Overcome It!”

Through his research and walk with God, Dr.Colbert has been given a unique insight that has helped thousands improve their lives.

Taping begins at 11:30 a.m. CT on Grace Street at Morningside!  We would love to see you there!  Or watch us via live feed on Jimbakkershow.com/watch-us-live.

28 Californians and Millions of Birds Killed by West Nile Virus

A study, released Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has found that the West Nile virus is annihilating the native bird population in the United States. The study looked at the impact of the virus on 49 species from information collected at over 500 bird banding stations across the U.S. from 1992 to 2007.
UCLA’s Ryan Harrigan and his colleagues found significant declines in survival rates associated with West Nile virus for 23 out of 49 of the species examined.

Millions of birds can die in a single year when West Nile hits species with large populations. Among the estimated 130 million red-eyed vireos in the United States, researchers believe the virus killed 29 percent, or more than 37 million.

West Nile, a mosquito-borne virus, was introduced in North America in 1989. It has drawn the most attention for its impact on humans, with 1 in 5 people who are infected developing a fever with other symptoms, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. In rare cases, people develop a serious, sometimes fatal, neurologic illness.

According to the CDC, West Nile Virus which originated in birds, then spread to mammals and then humans killed 85 people last year with 2,122 cases reported. So far, 63 deaths have been reported, 28 in California alone, with 1,197 cases reported in the United States. The first deaths from West Nile Virus were reported in 1999.

The most deaths were reported in 2012 with 5674 cases reported and 286 deaths.

State Officials Report: Oregon Teen Girl has Bubonic Plague

Oregon health officials state that a 16-year-old girl in Crook County has been diagnosed with the bubonic plague.

According to USA Today, the teen is currently in an intensive care at a local hospital and her status isn’t known at this time. The Oregon Health Authority believes the girl contracted the disease via flea bite while she was on a hunting trip. So far, no one else in Crook County has been infected with the plague.

“Many people think of the plague as a disease of the past, but it’s still very much present in our environment, particularly among wildlife,” state public health veterinarian Emilio DeBess told KGW. “Fortunately, plague remains a rare disease, but people need to take appropriate precautions with wildlife and their pets to keep it that way.”

Federal and state health officials are working with local authorities to investigate the disease.

The Bubonic plague is the disease heard of during the medieval times that wiped out the majority of the population, however, it is rare today. CBS News reports that there is an average of seven human plague cases a year. In Oregon, there have only been eight human cases since 1995 with no reported deaths.

If caught early enough, the plague can be treated with antibiotics. There is currently no vaccine for the plague.

Man’s Blood Saves Two Million Babies

An Australian man is being called “the Man with the Golden Arm” for saving two million newborns because of donating his plasma.

James Harrison has a rare blood type that contains life-saving antibodies.  Doctors believe that Harrison somehow developed the antibody during an operation at age 14 where he had a lung removed.

Now, Harrison’s blood is used to create the vaccine Anti-D.  The vaccine is used to treat pregnant women with a blood disease that can lead to complications.  Harrison has donated every week for the last 60 years, over 1,000 times.

“In Australia, up until about 1967, there were literally thousands of babies dying each year. Doctors didn’t know why, and it was awful,” Jemma Falkenmire, of the Australian Red Cross Blood Service, told CNN. “Women were having numerous miscarriages, and babies were being born with brain damage.”

The condition is called Rhesus disease and happens when a woman has rhesus-negative blood and her baby has rhesus-positive blood.  The mother can produce antibodies that begin to attack the baby.  The Anti-D vaccine prevents the antibodies that attack the baby from developing.

“It makes you feel good yourself that you’ve saved a life there, and you’ve saved many more— and that’s great,” Harrison, who added he does not see himself as a hero, told CNN.

The Australian Red Cross says that 17 percent of Australian women are risk for the disease and they hope another donor can be found before Harrison reaches 81, the age limit for blood donation in the country.

Liberia Declared Ebola-Free

The World Health Organization has declared Liberia to finally be free of Ebola.

The death toll from the virus was listed as 4,700 by WHO officials.

“The outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Liberia is over,” WHO representative Dr. Alex Gasasira said at a press conference in the capital city of Monrovia on Saturday, reading his group’s statement.

The announcement comes 42 days after the last reported case of the virus.  The standard for declaring a nation free of a virus is twice the cycle of infection which is 21 days for Ebola.

“Interruption of transmission is a monumental achievement for a country that reported the highest number of deaths in the largest, longest, and most complex outbreak since Ebola first emerged in 1976,” WHO said in the statement.

The peak of the virus was August and September 2014 where 300 to 400 cases were being confirmed each week.

“During those 2 months, the capital city Monrovia was the setting for some of the most tragic scenes from West Africa’s outbreak: gates locked at overflowing treatment centers, patients dying on the hospital grounds, and bodies that were sometimes not collected for days,” WHO said. “Flights were cancelled. Fuel and food ran low. Schools, businesses, borders, markets, and most health facilities were closed. Fear and uncertainty about the future, for families, communities, and the country and its economy, dominated the national mood.”

Officials with the WHO have previously admitted the death toll could be much higher than the official toll because of families that would bury their dead and not report relatives who succumbed to the virus.

Scientists Find Protein To “Turbo-Charge” Immune System

Scientists at Imperial College London have found what they call a “game-changer” for cancer treatment: a protein that will “turbo-charge” the immune system to fighting cancers and viruses.

“This is exciting because we have found a completely different way to use the immune system to fight cancer,” said Professor Philip Ashton-Rickardt, from the Section of Immunobiology in the Department of Medicine at Imperial, who led the study.

“It could be a game-changer for treating a number of different cancers and viruses. This is a completely unknown protein. Nobody had ever seen it before or was even aware that it existed. It looks and acts like no other protein.”

When the body detects cancer, it will immediately flood the immune system with T-cells which fight the cancer.  However, the body quickly reduces that output after the initial wave.  The new protein creates T-cells in large enough numbers that cancer cannot fight them off.

The protein also creates “memory cells” in the immune system to recognize previously fought cancers and viruses to lessen the chances of their return.

“The discovery of a protein that could boost the immune response to not only cancer, but also to viruses, is a fascinating one,” Dr. Mike Turner of the Wellcome Trust, told the Daily Telegraph.  “Further investigation in animal models is needed before human trials can commence, but there is potential for a new type of treatment that capitalizes on the immune system’s innate ability to detect and kill abnormal cells.”

The study has been published in the journal Science.

Drug Resistant Food Poisoning Arrives In United States

A new drug-resistant strain of food poisoning has arrived in the United States via travelers from abroad.

The disease, shigella, is a bacteria that infects intestines.  The disease causes cramps and rectal pain, bloody or mucus-laced diarrhea and vomiting.  The CDC reported 243 cases in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

About 20 percent of the people infected with the bacteria needed to be hospitalized.

The regular drug-impacted version of the disease, shigellosis, impacts half a million Americans every year.

“If rates of resistance become this high, in more places, we’ll have very few options left for treating Shigella with antibiotics by mouth,” says epidemiologist Anna Bowen, who led the study.

The disease of very infectious.  At few at 10 germs can cause an infection.

The drug resistant strain has found in 32 states from May 2014 to February 2015 in people who had connection to international travel.

Connecticut Debates Physician Assisted Suicide

A new proposal in the Connecticut legislature would legalize physician-assisted suicide in the state.

A public hearing was held last week to debate the matter.  One of the pro-death speakers was Rep. Kelly Luxenberg (D-Manchester) whose father committed suicide by drowning himself after a battle with Parkinson’s disease.

“He never learned to swim and was intensely fearful of the water. So there is an even sadder irony in the way in which he chose to die,” she told the Judiciary Committee and those gathered. “Parkinson’s stripped my father of a life with dignity. Wouldn’t it have been great if in death his dignity could have been regained?”

Pro-life speakers also had their say before the Committee.

“People with disabilities, advocates against elder abuse are rightly concerned that the ‘right to die’ could become a ‘duty to die,’” Peter Wolfgang of the Family Institute of Connecticut told those gathered.

“Is it acceptable for someone’s life to be shortened because people may be actually on a wrong prognosis, or because they have been pressed to make this final move?” asked Cathy Ludlum of Second Thoughts Connecticut, who is disabled.

The bill would allow a doctor to prescribe a lethal dose of medication to the patient who would then ingest it on their own to end their life after submitting two requests to a physician and having two witnesses unrelated to the patient review the case and be present for the administration of the procedure.