Posted on 09/18/2007 12:40:51 PM PDT by Froufrou
A vaccine that has dramatically curbed pneumonia and other serious illnesses in children is also having an unfortunate effect: promoting new superbugs that cause ear infections.
On Monday, doctors reported discovering the first such germ that is resistant to all drugs approved to treat childhood ear infections. Nine toddlers in Rochester, N.Y., have had the bug and researchers say it may be turning up elsewhere.
It is a strain of strep bacteria not included in the pneumococcal vaccine, Wyeth's Prevnar, which came on the market in 2000. It is recommended for children under age 2.
Doctors say parents should continue to have their toddlers get the shots because the vaccine prevents serious illness and even saves lives. But the new resistant strep is a worry.
"The best way to prevent these resistant infections from spreading is to be careful about how we use antibiotics," said Dr. Cynthia Whitney, chief of respiratory diseases at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Avoiding antibiotics when they are not needed is the best way to ensure they will work when they are, she said.
Prevnar prevents seven strains responsible for most cases of pneumonia, meningitis and deadly bloodstream infections. But dozens more strep strains exist, and some have flourished and become impervious to antibiotics since the vaccine combats the more common strains.
If the new strains continue to spread, "it tells us the vaccine is becoming less effective" and needs to be revised, said Dr. Dennis Maki, infectious diseases chief at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Hospitals and Clinics.
Wyeth anticipated this and is testing a second-generation vaccine. But it is at least two years from reaching the market, and the new strains could become a public health problem in the meantime if they spread hard-to-treat infections through day care centers and schools.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
On Monday, doctors reported discovering the first such germ that is resistant to all drugs approved to treat childhood ear infections. Nine toddlers in Rochester, N.Y., have had the bug and researchers say it may be turning up elsewhere.
It is a strain of strep bacteria not included in the pneumococcal vaccine, Wyeth’s Prevnar, which came on the market in 2000. It is recommended for children under age 2.
___________________
Oh good, now they can create a drug to treat the ear infections. /sar
Wonder if vaccines for viruses will see the same thing. Like that new HPV vaccine, for instance, that only vaccinates against certain strains.
Well, if the vaccine prevents infection from some strains of bacteria, it means the ground is fertile for other bacteria that are not affected by vaccination.
of course it does, just imagine what would happen if we were free of all the chemicals and allowed our bodies to develop natural immunities, not being exposed to diseases caused by leaving a gaping hole in the the fake immune system.
First of all, I have been to Dr's who insisted an antibiotic was not needed and suffered needlessly until a Dr. prescribed an antibiotic and the problem was finally solved. Determining the need to use the antibiotic is not as simple as implied here.
Second, I have heard the largest problem has been improper use of antibiotics by patients not fully taking the drug for the prescribed time, not over prescription.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.