Scientists find antibodies that kill range of flu viruses
- Thread starter Francis2004
- Start date
There has always been a cure for the flu, cancer, pox, plaque etc. It's called you immune system. Treat it well it will treat you well.
Now, if everyone knew that those poor pharmaceutical companies would go broke. We wouldn't need as many doctors. My god man! Our economy would collapse!
Oh ya! It did already.
That is a good point that keeping your immune system well tuned is a great way to keep flu's and other bugs away as well as washing hands and doing simple other little things..
Of course there is always the odd time that a bug slips by and gets into your system to make life miserable none the less..
I've gotten a flu shot for several years now. I noticed this year that reports showed two things - one, lots of people didn't bother and two, the shot we got was not for the strain of flu that is going around anyway. Big pharma is not the only one to lose out. Our own docs. lose too. The first year we moved to this city was the first year they started charging people here. We always had to pay where we lived before. It's a little like a Costco membership. We started out paying $8.00 for the flu shot, then $10.00, and now it's up to $20.00 if you get it from a medical clinic. Seniors don't pay and we don't pay because we have a child in the family with cerebral palsy and is in our immediate care. They have all this talk about a pandemic and now we are in a recession and no one can afford the shot anyway. What will happen if there is a pandemic? Will we be given the shot or will they collect the money regardless!
They will fleece you or you will suffer. If their is a pandemic, I wouldn't be surprised if they start it. Big Pharma is like the Jesuits who came here with a cure for Small Pox but would only administer it to the natives if they converted to Catholicism. No conversion, die a horrible death. Same mentality.
The young and elderly have weaker immune systems this is why they are encourage in those demographics. It's not about the strain it's about how your body is set up to handle the pathogen. To fight small pox we are given a dose of cow pox. Both are different strains yet once you've gotten one you are protected from others.
Stress being the biggest factor as well as being tired.. Those will bring down the immune system enough to get those little bugs
Very healthy, strong people can get the flu, one doesn't need to have anything
weak or an immune system that is less than perfect, it's just that, those who
are weaker, have a 'bigger' chance of coming down with it.
It's all about the immune system and not how many buses you can pull with your teeth or other feats of strength.
I still say Stress affects you regardless of how well you immune system is doing.. Stress is by far the number one killer ( indirectly ).
There lurks a threat far bigger than a mere flu. MRSA. Are you a carrier? Have you ever been tested? Anyone can become a carrier which will lay hidden for years distressing your immune system leaving your easy pickings to any simple virus or bacteria.
What is methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus MRSA?
MRSA stands for methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacteria. This organism is known for causing skin infections, in addition to many other types of infections. There are other designations in the scientific literature for these bacteria according to where the bacteria are acquired by patients, such as community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA), and hospital-acquired MRSA or epidemic MRSA (EMRSA).
Although S. aureus has been causing infections (staph infections) probably as long as the human race has existed, MRSA has a relatively short history. MRSA was first noted in 1961, about two years after the antibiotic methicillin was initially used to treat S. aureus and other infectious bacteria. The resistance to methicillin was due to a penicillin-binding protein coded for by a mobile genetic element termed the methicillin resistant gene (mecA). In recent years, the gene has continued to evolve so that many MRSA strains are currently resistant to several different antibiotics. S. aureus is sometimes termed a "superbug" because of its ability to become resistant to several antibiotics. Unfortunately, MRSA can be found worldwide.
What are the signs and symptoms of MRSA infection?
Most MRSA infections are skin infections that produce the following signs and symptoms:
How is MRSA infection transmitted?
There are two major ways people become infected with MRSA. The first is physical contact with someone who is either infected or is a carrier (people who are not infected but are colonized with the bacteria on their body) of MRSA. The second way is for people to physically contact MRSA on any objects such as door handles, floors, sinks, or towels that have been touched by an MRSA-infected person or carrier. Normal skin tissue in people usually does not allow MRSA infection to develop; however, if there are cuts, abrasions, or other skin flaws such as psoriasis (chronic skin disease with dry patches, redness, and scaly skin), MRSA may proliferate. Many otherwise healthy individuals, especially children and young adults, do not notice small skin imperfections or scrapes and may be lax in taking precautions about skin contacts. This is the likely reason MRSA outbreaks occur in diverse types of people such as school team players (like football players or wrestlers), dormitory residents, and armed-services personnel in constant close contact.
People with higher risk of MRSA infection are those with obvious skin breaks (surgical patients, hospital patients with intravenous lines, burns, or skin ulcers) and patients with depressed immune systems (infants, elderly, or HIV-infected individuals) or chronic diseases (diabetes or cancer). Patients with pneumonia (lung infection) due to MRSA can transmit MRSA by airborne droplets. Health-care workers as a group are repeatedly exposed to MRSA-positive patients and can have a high rate of infection if precautions are not taken. Health-care workers and patient visitors should use disposable masks, gowns, and gloves when they enter the MRSA-infected patient's room.
How is MRSA diagnosed?
A skin sample, pus on the skin, or blood, urine, or biopsy material (tissue sample) is sent to a microbiology lab and cultured for S. aureus. If S. aureus is isolated (grown on a Petri plate), the bacteria are then exposed to different antibiotics including methicillin. S. aureus that grows well when methicillin is in the culture are termed MRSA, and the patient is diagnosed as MRSA-infected. The same procedure is done to determine if someone is an MRSA carrier (screening for a carrier), but sample skin or mucous membrane sites are only swabbed, not biopsied.
In 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a rapid blood test that can detect the presence of MRSA genetic material in a blood sample in as little as two hours. The test is also able to determine whether the genetic material is from MRSA or from less dangerous Staph bacteria. The test is not recommended for use in monitoring treatment of MRSA infections and should not be used as the only basis for the diagnosis of a MRSA infection.
How can people prevent MRSA infection?
Not making direct contact with skin, clothing, and any items that come in contact with either MRSA patients or MRSA carriers is the best way to avoid MRSA infection. In many instances, this situation is simply not practical because such infected individuals or carriers are not immediately identifiable. What people can do is to treat and cover (for example, antiseptic cream and a Band-Aid) any skin breaks and use excellent hygiene practices (for example, hand washing with soap after personal contact or toilet use, washing clothes potentially in contact with MRSA patients or carriers, using disposable items when treating MRSA patients). Also available at most stores are antiseptic solutions and wipes to both clean hands and surfaces that may contact MRSA. Pregnant individuals need to consult with their doctors if they are infected or are carriers of MRSA. Although MRSA is not transmitted to infants by breastfeeding, there are a few reports that infants can be infected by their mothers who have MRSA, but this seems to be an infrequent situation. Some pregnant MRSA carriers have been successfully treated with the antibiotic mupirocin cream.
Can people die from MRSA infections?
Yes. Currently available statistics from the Kaiser foundation in 2007 (http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=45809) indicate that about 1.2 million hospitalized patients have MRSA, and the mortality rate is estimated to be between 4%-10%. In general, CA-MRSA has far less risk as long as the patient does well with treatment and does not require hospitalization.
If MRSA is so resistant to many antibiotics, how is it treated or cured?
Fortunately, most MRSA still can be treated by certain specific antibiotics (for example, vancomycin (Vancocin), linezolid (Zyvox), and others). For MRSA carriers, mupirocin antibiotic cream can potentially eliminate MRSA from mucous membrane colonization. A good medical practice is to determine, by microbiological techniques done in a lab, which antibiotic(s) can kill the MRSA and use it alone or, more often, in combination with additional antibiotics to treat the infected patient. Since resistance can change quickly, antibiotic treatments may need to change also. Many people think they are "cured" after a few antibiotic doses and stop taking the medicine. This is a bad decision because the MRSA may still be viable in or on the person and reinfect the person. Also, the surviving MRSA may be exposed to low antibiotic doses when the medicine is stopped too soon; this low dose may allow MRSA enough time to become resistant to the medicine. Consequently, MRSA patients (in fact, all patients) treated with appropriate antibiotics should take the entire course of the antibiotic as directed by their doctor. A note of caution is that, in the last few years, there are reports that a new strain of MRSA has evolved that is resistant to vancomycin (VRSA or vancomycin resistant S. aureus) and other antibiotics. Currently, VRSA is not widespread, but it could be the next "superbug."
Where are other MRSA information sources?
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/99/11/7687
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20061201/tips/18.html
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol11no06/04-0831.htm
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=45809
Talk to your doctor about being tested.
What is methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus MRSA?
MRSA stands for methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacteria. This organism is known for causing skin infections, in addition to many other types of infections. There are other designations in the scientific literature for these bacteria according to where the bacteria are acquired by patients, such as community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA), and hospital-acquired MRSA or epidemic MRSA (EMRSA).
Although S. aureus has been causing infections (staph infections) probably as long as the human race has existed, MRSA has a relatively short history. MRSA was first noted in 1961, about two years after the antibiotic methicillin was initially used to treat S. aureus and other infectious bacteria. The resistance to methicillin was due to a penicillin-binding protein coded for by a mobile genetic element termed the methicillin resistant gene (mecA). In recent years, the gene has continued to evolve so that many MRSA strains are currently resistant to several different antibiotics. S. aureus is sometimes termed a "superbug" because of its ability to become resistant to several antibiotics. Unfortunately, MRSA can be found worldwide.
What are the signs and symptoms of MRSA infection?
Most MRSA infections are skin infections that produce the following signs and symptoms:
- cellulitis (infection of the skin or the fat and tissues that lie immediately beneath the skin, usually starting as small red bumps in the skin),
- boils (pus-filled infections of hair follicles),
- abscesses (collections of pus in under the skin),
- sty (infection of eyelid gland),
- carbuncles (infections larger than an abscess, usually with several openings to the skin), and
- impetigo (a skin infection with pus-filled blisters).
How is MRSA infection transmitted?
There are two major ways people become infected with MRSA. The first is physical contact with someone who is either infected or is a carrier (people who are not infected but are colonized with the bacteria on their body) of MRSA. The second way is for people to physically contact MRSA on any objects such as door handles, floors, sinks, or towels that have been touched by an MRSA-infected person or carrier. Normal skin tissue in people usually does not allow MRSA infection to develop; however, if there are cuts, abrasions, or other skin flaws such as psoriasis (chronic skin disease with dry patches, redness, and scaly skin), MRSA may proliferate. Many otherwise healthy individuals, especially children and young adults, do not notice small skin imperfections or scrapes and may be lax in taking precautions about skin contacts. This is the likely reason MRSA outbreaks occur in diverse types of people such as school team players (like football players or wrestlers), dormitory residents, and armed-services personnel in constant close contact.
People with higher risk of MRSA infection are those with obvious skin breaks (surgical patients, hospital patients with intravenous lines, burns, or skin ulcers) and patients with depressed immune systems (infants, elderly, or HIV-infected individuals) or chronic diseases (diabetes or cancer). Patients with pneumonia (lung infection) due to MRSA can transmit MRSA by airborne droplets. Health-care workers as a group are repeatedly exposed to MRSA-positive patients and can have a high rate of infection if precautions are not taken. Health-care workers and patient visitors should use disposable masks, gowns, and gloves when they enter the MRSA-infected patient's room.
How is MRSA diagnosed?
A skin sample, pus on the skin, or blood, urine, or biopsy material (tissue sample) is sent to a microbiology lab and cultured for S. aureus. If S. aureus is isolated (grown on a Petri plate), the bacteria are then exposed to different antibiotics including methicillin. S. aureus that grows well when methicillin is in the culture are termed MRSA, and the patient is diagnosed as MRSA-infected. The same procedure is done to determine if someone is an MRSA carrier (screening for a carrier), but sample skin or mucous membrane sites are only swabbed, not biopsied.
In 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a rapid blood test that can detect the presence of MRSA genetic material in a blood sample in as little as two hours. The test is also able to determine whether the genetic material is from MRSA or from less dangerous Staph bacteria. The test is not recommended for use in monitoring treatment of MRSA infections and should not be used as the only basis for the diagnosis of a MRSA infection.
How can people prevent MRSA infection?
Not making direct contact with skin, clothing, and any items that come in contact with either MRSA patients or MRSA carriers is the best way to avoid MRSA infection. In many instances, this situation is simply not practical because such infected individuals or carriers are not immediately identifiable. What people can do is to treat and cover (for example, antiseptic cream and a Band-Aid) any skin breaks and use excellent hygiene practices (for example, hand washing with soap after personal contact or toilet use, washing clothes potentially in contact with MRSA patients or carriers, using disposable items when treating MRSA patients). Also available at most stores are antiseptic solutions and wipes to both clean hands and surfaces that may contact MRSA. Pregnant individuals need to consult with their doctors if they are infected or are carriers of MRSA. Although MRSA is not transmitted to infants by breastfeeding, there are a few reports that infants can be infected by their mothers who have MRSA, but this seems to be an infrequent situation. Some pregnant MRSA carriers have been successfully treated with the antibiotic mupirocin cream.
Can people die from MRSA infections?
Yes. Currently available statistics from the Kaiser foundation in 2007 (http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=45809) indicate that about 1.2 million hospitalized patients have MRSA, and the mortality rate is estimated to be between 4%-10%. In general, CA-MRSA has far less risk as long as the patient does well with treatment and does not require hospitalization.
If MRSA is so resistant to many antibiotics, how is it treated or cured?
Fortunately, most MRSA still can be treated by certain specific antibiotics (for example, vancomycin (Vancocin), linezolid (Zyvox), and others). For MRSA carriers, mupirocin antibiotic cream can potentially eliminate MRSA from mucous membrane colonization. A good medical practice is to determine, by microbiological techniques done in a lab, which antibiotic(s) can kill the MRSA and use it alone or, more often, in combination with additional antibiotics to treat the infected patient. Since resistance can change quickly, antibiotic treatments may need to change also. Many people think they are "cured" after a few antibiotic doses and stop taking the medicine. This is a bad decision because the MRSA may still be viable in or on the person and reinfect the person. Also, the surviving MRSA may be exposed to low antibiotic doses when the medicine is stopped too soon; this low dose may allow MRSA enough time to become resistant to the medicine. Consequently, MRSA patients (in fact, all patients) treated with appropriate antibiotics should take the entire course of the antibiotic as directed by their doctor. A note of caution is that, in the last few years, there are reports that a new strain of MRSA has evolved that is resistant to vancomycin (VRSA or vancomycin resistant S. aureus) and other antibiotics. Currently, VRSA is not widespread, but it could be the next "superbug."
Where are other MRSA information sources?
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/99/11/7687
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20061201/tips/18.html
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol11no06/04-0831.htm
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=45809
Talk to your doctor about being tested.
Healthy people don't worry about bugs. If they get sick, they are no longer healthy people. There is no way to make healthy people a hundred percent safe from the next virus to come along.
Jeeez, Juan, all you are saying is that there are healthy people and sick people, period, nothing in between. That's just funny.
It's also nitpicking about the use of the word "healthy".
It's also nitpicking about the use of the word "healthy".