Rachael Pine
“Superbugs” Found
Breeding in Sewage Plants
First off
our sewage plants are meant to take care of sewage and make things like water
usable again. I thought that we perfected this and there was no danger in doing
this; and that the cleaning process would help us from using our entire water
source. But, this article mentions how in china there has been a discovery of
antibiotic-resistant bacteria (NDM-1) that does not respond to the traditional
cleaning processes. Scientist’s also found that this bacteria can make common
bacteria like E. coli, Salmonella etc. resistant to even the strongest
antibiotics. Another thing that is scary is that doctors wont know if you are
infected with NDM-1 until the symptoms wont respond to antibiotics. The
scientists are still trying to understand these superbugs and how to stop them
from getting pass the cleaning processes. One scientist suggested using
ultraviolet light to kill these superbugs; however more studying and
experiments need to be done before we can kill these superbugs.
It’s
terrifying to think that this new bacteria has grown and is getting passed our
cleaning processes. Along with the fact that it can make other bacteria’s super
bugs is scary as well. It’s like this NDM-1 is spinach and all these other
bacteria is Popeye and when they eat it they turn super strong and can’t be
stopped until it is too late. I for one hope that this will not reach the U.S. let
alone the entire earth and if it does the scientist in china will have found a
way to stop it, hopefully.
If it does happen to spread outside of the sewage, they will have to quarantine the entire country. A lot of superbugs have been discovered in the past couple of years and almost all of them have been immune to most of the antibiotics produced today. We will have to start studying these superbugs more closely in order to make the appropriate vaccines, otherwise the same will happen in the sewers of New York or some other big city.
ReplyDeleteHmm, this article makes you completely question what our so called "security" for things like our drinking water and health. It is truly amazing to learn about bacteria, these tiny little organisms have the capabilities to do so many things, kill off crazy other organisms for get in places that nothing else could. Every time I hear about drug resistance bacteria, it immediately is a red flag, to know that our only way of defending ourselves has been stopped by something you couldn't even see, in places that we think is safe. In the end it leaves a question we must think about, "what truly is safe anymore?"
ReplyDeleteIssues like this make me want to curl in a ball and seclude myself from everything in the world. Just when we think we have things down and we feel safe, life laughs at us and throws a curve ball that makes us question our knowledge. It's crazy that such small microbes, or superbugs, have so much power in terms of our health and life. It's amazing, but, I hate it. Hopefully we can control this issue.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was looking for a topic for this weeks blogs, I came across this one; and it's actually pretty crazy. I like Scotty's point, "what truly is safe anymore?" Its just insane to think that everyday more and more species of microbes and bacteria are discovered, and to see how harmful they are. I totally agree that this situation should all be contained before it reaches the United States. Good article!
ReplyDelete