Science is losing the war against "super-bugs"

Hospitals and other inpatient facilities are fighting a new, life-threatening intestinal super-bug, Clostridium difficile, which played a part in approximately 150,000 infections in 2000, and caused nearly 300,000 hospitalizations in 2005 (Associated Press Medical, May 28, 2008). This dangerous germ, which is spread by spores in feces, is said to have contributed to at least 5,500 deaths in the United States in 2004.

Antibacterial soap has little effect against Clostridium difficile; nor do most household disinfectants or cleaning compounds. It has become resistant to several antibiotics commonly used to eradicate other harmful colon bacteria. Once a victim's bacterial balance is destroyed, the germ is free to grow uncontrolled, leading to diarrhea and even to colitis.

Clostridium difficile was rarely diagnosed until this century. "The nature of this infection is changing. It's more severe," observed Dr. L. Clifford McDonald of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Older and sicker patients are most at risk, along with those who have been overdosed with inappropriate quantities of antibiotics, according to University of Massachusetts researcher Dr. Marya Zilberberg. Hospitals across the U.S. are working with the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology to find ways to effectively treat this dangerous new health threat.

Why do infections spread so quickly in the nation's healthcare facilities? Why are so many of the older, "reliable" antibiotics no longer effective against an ever-widening number of formerly treatable diseases? Treating everything from sexually transmitted diseases to the common cold, medical professionals have over-prescribed antibiotics in recent years, in such large quantities that old "bugs" have had to mutate into "super-bugs" to avoid extinction. Antibiotics found to be effective have been overused, which, ironically, destroys the antibiotics' effectiveness as bacteria gain more opportunities to adapt, and develop resistance.

To understand how antibiotics work, it helps to know about the two types of germs that can make people sick: bacteria and viruses. Bacteria are single-celled living organisms. They can be found almost anywhere; most cause no harm, and many are beneficial. Lactobacillus, for example, lives in the human intestine and helps digest food. However, some bacteria are harmful, and can cause illness when they multiply and interfere with normal bodily processes.

Antibiotics work by killing these living bacteria. Viruses, by contrast, are not alive; they are just particles containing genetic material wrapped in a protein coat. Unable to survive on their own, viruses propagate themselves by invading and infecting living cells. The human body's immune system can fight off some viruses before they cause illness, but other viruses (such as colds, flu and even chicken-pox) must simply run their course.

Since viruses are not living organisms, they do not respond to antibiotics at all. In fact, taking antibiotics in the hope of treating colds and other viral illnesses has a dangerous side effect, giving bacteria more opportunity to adapt to antibiotics, making them harder to kill and more resistant to treatment. As more bacteria adapt, higher doses of antibiotics are often required, and some of the most resistant bacteria can be fought by only a few of the most powerful antibiotics. Doctors are constantly on the lookout for new antibiotic strains that can be used as existing strains become ineffective.

By over-prescribing antibiotics, the medical establishment may have bequeathed to humanity an inability to fight off the very "super-bugs" it has created. The world stage is now set for pandemics (widespread disease epidemics) on a scale that mankind has not seen since the Black Death in medieval times. To those who obey Him, God says: "And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you" (Deuteronomy 7:15).

When the modern medical system becomes overwhelmed by pandemics, to whom will you turn for healing? To find out what you can do to protect yourself and your loved ones, read our booklet, Does God Heal Today?