Category Archives: Antibiotics

Secondary Effects of COVID-19: Bathing the World in a Dilute Solution of Quaternary Ammonium Compounds

Posted on May 21, 2020 by mikethemadbiologist

Because you need one more fucking thing to worry about. One of the consequences of a global pandemic is that we are forced to do things that will have harmful consequences to combat the pandemic. Using less mass transit exacerbates … Continue reading →

Posted in Antibiotics, COVID-19 | 2 Comments

The Ugliness Of An Antibiotic Resistant Future

Posted on May 1, 2019 by mikethemadbiologist

While the worst thing about the evolution of bacterial antibiotic resistance is that we simply can’t treat deadly infections, there is a second worst thing–many more people will be needlessly miserable and sick (boldface mine): The first antibiotic that didn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Antibiotics | 1 Comment

Medical Tourism Is Still A Bad Solution

Posted on January 25, 2019 by mikethemadbiologist

From the CDC: Recently, some US residents returning from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, were diagnosed with infections caused by an antibiotic-resistant form of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria. All of the travelers with this particular infection had an invasive medical procedure performed … Continue reading →

Posted in Antibiotics, Healthcare | 2 Comments

AMR Genes In Space. BOOGA BOOGA?

Posted on November 29, 2018 by mikethemadbiologist

I really try to avoid giving scientific papers the full Mad Biologist treatment, so I was going to let this paper about antimicrobial resistance in space (BOOGA! BOOGA!) lie. And then I saw RT (not a big fan in general … Continue reading →

Posted in Antibiotics, Genomics | 1 Comment

Democrats Propose Some Good Antibiotic-Related Legislation

Posted on August 9, 2018 by mikethemadbiologist

While it won’t pass either a Republican-led Senate or House, Democratic senators Richard Blumenthal, Diane Feinstein, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Elizabeth Warren have proposed legislation, the Strengthening Antibiotic Oversight Act, that would do three important things: Requires the FDA to review … Continue reading →

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Urgent Care Centers Are Misusing Antibiotics

Posted on July 20, 2018 by mikethemadbiologist

This is a problem (boldface mine): Visits for antibiotic-inappropriate respiratory diagnoses accounted for 17% (n = 10 009) of retail clinic visits, 16% (n = 441 605) of urgent care center visits, 6% (n = 9 203 276) of medical office visits, and 5% (n = 257 010) of ED visits. Among visits … Continue reading →

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Of Mice And Men And Antibiotic Resistance

Posted on April 19, 2018 by mikethemadbiologist

A recent mBio paper about bacteria and antimicrobial resistance found its way into the popular press, and, as you might expect, it’s not good. The problem aren’t the data in the paper, but the context (or lack thereof) into which … Continue reading →

Posted in Antibiotics, E. coli | 1 Comment

The CDC Report On EBSLs & CREs: Better, If Not Good, News

Posted on April 5, 2018 by mikethemadbiologist

This week, the CDC released a report describing trends in carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae (E. coli and relatives that are resistant to all penicillin derivatives, and are also typically resistant to most or all other drugs; CRE) and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producing organisms … Continue reading →

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Louise Slaughter, Congresswoman and Microbiologist, RIP

Posted on March 19, 2018 by mikethemadbiologist

Friday, Democratic Congresswoman Louise Slaughter died after complications from a fall. She was a stalwart for women’s rights, and co-author of the Violence Against Women Act; Slaughter also was one of the few congress(wo)men who attempted to delay the confirmation … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Antibiotics, Civil Liberties, Democrats, Genetics | 1 Comment

Language Differences And The Public Response To Antibiotic Resistance

Posted on January 25, 2018 by mikethemadbiologist

Years ago, when I worked in public health, a repairman was working in the office, and he approached me and asked, “So, antibiotics, are you for them or against them?” I explained that we advocated for them to be used … Continue reading →

Posted in Antibiotics | 1 Comment