Hello all,
This week, to tie in with our study of bacteria and viruses, we're going to talk about antibiotic resistance and the public policies that influence it.
The main reading is a piece from AP about how Norway has dealt with the problem of MRSA and how other countries could do the same:
http://www.physorg.com/news181461239.html
Next, we have a study relating changes in the strictness of Norway's infection control policy to the incidence of MRSA cases:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18029021
On a different note, here is an article written by some investigative reporters who found ways to get antibiotics over the counter in the US:
http://www.coreynahman.com/antibiotics.html
This article in The Economist takes a more international perspective, exploring the link between trade barriers and demand for antibiotics:
http://www.economist.com/node/12896714
But wait, we're not done yet! Nicholas Kristof writes in this article about the connection between agricultural policy and antibiotic resistance:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/opinion/15kristof.html?_r=1
Lastly, a final consideration to make. Here's a report suggesting that antibiotics in livestock can even leak out into crops:
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/antibiotics-in-crops
Cheers,
-Long
P.S. Justin Barr recommends the following book-length treatment of the issue:
Levy, Stuart B. The Antibiotic Paradox: How Miracle Drugs are Destroying the Miracle. New York: Plenum Press, 1992.
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