According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), antibiotic resistance is "one of the world's most pressing public health problems." [1] Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the newest plagues of modern life.
MRSA is just one member of a group of microorganisms demonstrating increased resistance to conventional antibiotic treatment strategies. These organisms have only recently emerged from the fabric of our disturbed environment since the medical, hygiene, and agricultural industries have adopted the routine use of antibiotics.
Community-acquired strains of MRSA are interesting and unique because they combine antibiotic resistance with a powerful increase in virulence and invasiveness. Infectious outbreaks involving these organisms don't originate in hospitals or nursing homes, but have sprung up in the community at an unprecedented rate.
With mounting public concern, the lay media has responded by filling the information gap with explanations and suggestions. Unfortunately, many of these suggestions involve the same orthodox antibiotic strategies that created this problem. [2]
Guidelines generated by medical authorities including the CDC [3] and groups like the New York City-based Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths (RID) [4] follow the same orthodox methodologies. These offices appear to be at a loss when it comes to suggesting effective alternative strategies.
Judging by the lay media's coverage and professional review analyses [5], viable alternative strategies for dealing with this situation in an efficacious manner are simply nonexistent. This article will refute that point by providing background information on the nature of antibiotic resistance and explore several effective complementary and alternative medical (CAM) approaches that can be safely and effectively utilized to curtail the problem.
This is part one of an eight-part series. Next week: Staphylococcal bacteria
References:
1. http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/community/faqs.htm#2
2. Murphy K, Concern Mounts as Bacteria Resistant to Antibiotics Disperse Widely, New York Times, Aug 22, 2006:F7
3. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/mrsa/
4. http://www.hospitalinfection.org/protectyourself.shtml
5. Rehm SJ, Staphylococcus aureus: The new adventures of a legendary pathogen. Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine, 75(3), 2008:177-192.
Ronald D. Whitmont, M.D., is a board-certified internist with a private practice of classical homeopathy in New York. He is the president of the Homeopathic Medical Society of the State of New York (HMSSNY).
Dr. Whitmont's Web site
This paper was initially presented at the 2007 HMSSNY annual meeting .
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