DailyDirt: Antibiotic Resistance Is (Not) Futile...

With the news that a "superbug" resistant to an antibiotic of last resort was found in the US, there's a bit of concern that medicine could regress significantly in the face of uncontrollable bacteria. We've had antibiotic drugs for about 70 years now, and we've grown accustomed to the effectiveness of these drugs. Hopefully, we can stay ahead of drug-resistant microbes with new pharmaceuticals or phage therapy.

• Antibiotic resistance sounds like a new problem, but ancient microbes have been found with genes that make them resistant to modern drugs. DNA from 30,000-year-old permafrost shows that there were "superbugs" well before we even discovered antibiotic compounds. [url]
• Waste water from various sources can obviously cause antibiotic-resistant bacteria to emerge. Heavy metal contamination in waste water may be a contributing factor, not just waste from residential sewage systems. [url]
• If you're looking for a hand sanitizer that doesn't irritate your skin, try some quaternary ammonium salt formulations. Sure, you could use alcohol-based lotions or diluted chlorine solutions, but those ingredients can dry out your skin if you use them a lot. [url]

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