In a message dated 96-12-01 17:34:09 EST, you write:
>
>56 in hospital, 5 or 6 dead and 23 or so giving cause for concern
>following an outbreak of E.Coli GE in Scotland.
>
>I know the E.Coli can be a nasty piece of work, but to that extent?
>
>Could this be the beginning of what we all have been warning against
>for ages: excessive use of antibiotics may lead to altered bug
>immunity and the emergence of super bugs?
>
>Ahmad
Ahmad,
The problem with e coli 0157 is not antibiotic resistance but the toxin it
produces. If you mean "does the evolution of pathogens have it in for us"
the answer is yes. Antibiotic resistance is only one of the evolutionary
strategies (or even "forced" natural selection if you will, that which
survives penicillin lives to reproduce).
Arthur Freeland
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