We may be living in what turns out to be a unique period in the history of public health. Most epidemic and pandemic diseases, like polio and smallpox, have been all but wiped out. We have antibiotics effective against almost all infectious bacteria and even effective vaccines and treatments for virii. Medicine is currently is enjoying the zenith of its unprecedented success in the war on disease.

But evolution is on the side of the bugs, since they can potentially change far more rapidly than medical science can come up with new drugs to treat them. We are only seeing the tip of this looming iceburg with the new superbugs like MRSA and polyresistant turbuculosis. We may be entering an age akin that our great-grandparents knew, where a small cut could take your life, parents had good reason to fear whether or not their children would survive to adulthood without being stricken down with some dreaded disease, and infectious diseases are a leading cause of death.

Jeff

Jeff

We're already there. Recently, I was talking to a lot more of the 65+ year old crowd than I normally do, asking how so-and-so was doing, and I was amazed by how many of these folks had contracted an infection during a surgical procedure (bypass, hip replacement, angioplasty, etc.) and the surgery went fine but they died from the infection because it was antibiotic-resistant. Shocked me how common it seemed just from this small group of people.

I would guess this somewhat more common with older folks because they are partaking of medical procedures in a place that is infested with germs, the hospital, or at least my heart doctor said, there are more germs in a hospital then almost anyplace else. And that they are frailer and more vulnerable to infections. Also the doctors are playing it safe and trying to not get sued so they load them up with antibiotics.


I agree antibiotics are overused.

But for a vast majority of people, were are able to fight off germs fine without them.

I recently was stupid and tried to take part of my right index finger off with a 10-inch table saw. . I cut ½ way through my finger from the top. I lost ¼ of my nail.

All I did to take care of it was to go wash it off with water from the garden hose and wrap it in a paper towel and continue to work on my project. Later that evening I put some ointment on it and a gauze pad on it. No infection and it’s slowly growing back most of the fingernail. Had I went to the hospital they would have made me sit for 2-hrs, loaded me up with antibiotics, put gauze on it and charged a few hundred dollars. It would have looked the same as it does now.

... as far as stockpiling antibiotics for (insert disaster), please read my post here:
http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.ph...0640#Post124193

A question that hasn't been asked, but that came straight to mind when I read the article is, "How do I get a vaccine for bacterial pneumonia?" Does it makes sense to get one, how long does one last...

Even when not faced with a large scale disaster, pneumonia is a statistically significant risk.

IANAD, but your GF needs to Google "Cipro side effects" and read up before relying on it as a cure-all.

That story is available online here

There is a common vaccine called pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV). You can read more about it on this CDC webpage. Commonly given to the 65+ year old crowd. Just note that the bacterial strains covered by this vaccine aren't the only bacteria that can cause secondary bacterial pneumonia, so it's not a foolproof protection against a repeat of a Spanish Flu-type pandemic.

Just ask your doctor.

In the past few years, we in the ham radio community have been working with the Medical Reserve Corps. In the event of a pandemic requiring mass antibiotic release, the MRC is preparing to open lots of "PODs" (Points of Dispensing) for the fast release of antibiotics. The initial release would come from the "SNS" or Strategic National Stockpile, which is composed of air freight containers that can be delivered anywhere in the country no longer than 12 hrs after activation. Follow on drug releases would come from slower national and state stockpiles. The PODs are in public areas other than hospitals & clinics, to take the load off those facilities.

That's not to say that all points in the US could be reached that quickly, but here in the N. Texas area, we've been drilling for it.