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Super Bad Superbugs
Good morning,
This message is for all Department Heads and Supervisors. Please share the below Health Link information with your employees.
Thanks!
Jeannie

From: Santin, Pamela [mailto:Pamela.Santin@bcbsma.com]
Sent: Thursday, December 01, 2011 8:53 AM
To: Santin, Pamela
Subject: December Health Link: Super Bad Superbugs

Super Bad Superbugs

It’s hard to believe that antibiotics have only been in widespread use since the 1940’s. In just 70 short years, bacterial infections like tuberculosis, pneumonia, and gonorrhea that once killed millions, became curable. The bad news is that through the overuse and misuse of antibiotics, some of those once-curable diseases have developed new strains. Repeated and improper uses of antibiotics are the main causes of the increase in drug-resistant bacteria. This is such a serious problem that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) consider it one of the world's most pressing public health problems. The Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy reports that the United States lags behind many Western European nations in controlling the spread of certain drug-resistant microbes or “superbugs”. In fact, according to the CDC, nearly 52% of reported Staph samples in the United States are resistant to treatment with penicillin, methicillin, and closely related antibiotics, compared to just 1% in Sweden.

View an amazingly informative 2-minute video from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on combating antibiotic resistance http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm092810.htm . They offer some no-nonsense do’s and don’ts on proper antibiotic use:

  • Take antibiotics as directed  
  • Don’t stop taking it because you start feeling better  
  • Don’t share it  
  • Don’t save it  
  • Don’t pressure your healthcare provider to prescribe an antibiotic  
If you have kids it’s probably no surprise to you that ear infection (otitis media) is the most common condition for which antibiotics are prescribed.  The American Academy of Pediatrics, recommend "observation" - avoiding antibiotics - as an option for treating ear infections in otherwise healthy children between the ages of 2 and 12. This makes sense in light of a recent study in the journal, Pediatrics that found that there are about ten million unnecessary pediatric antibiotic prescriptions written each year. Test your knowledge of when antibiotics work and don’t work with the CDC antibiotics quiz http://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/resources/quiz.html

Antibiotics kill bacteria. They are not effective against viruses. They do not work against viral infections like colds and flu. Using antibiotics against viral infections

  • Will not cure the infection  
  • Will not make you less contagious  
  • Will not relieve your symptoms  
  • May cause unnecessary, harmful side effects  
  • Contribute to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria  
It would be great if there were a cure for the common cold. Unfortunately, there isn’t, and the CDC wants to remind us that cold or flu – antibiotics don’t work for you http://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/campaign-materials/print-materials/Brochure-general.html

We all play a role in preventing antibiotic resistance, and it’s in our best interest to do it. Bacteria are bad enough, but superbugs are super terrifying. Get smart about antibiotics so they will work when we really need them!

Healthy Regards,
Pam



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