Scientists worry about emerging antibiotic resistant diseases insouthern U.S. and developing countries

GHN News Staff - Emerging infectious diseases resistant to antibiotics is a major concern of medical scientists meeting in a symposium to discuss what can be done on both national and international levels to protect the public.

180 of 1,400 pathogens identified in 2005 met the criteria for "emerging or re-emerging" pathogens, according to an introductory article by symposium editors Ronald A. Greenfield, M.D., and Michael S. Bronze, M.D

Patient diagnosis and treatment concerns has brought the attention of scientists on ways to prevent problems and to identify new pathogens as they occur.  A symposium is presently underway to discuss some of these problems.

The symposium, sponsored by  The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, is examining infectious diseases recognized by doctors throughout the world, especially in developing countries. 

Scientists tell us these new infectious diseases are created by a variety of factors that include land use, social changes, population health and demographics and medical procedures in response to new findings.

Most emerging infectious disease events are caused by  what scientists call"zoonotic" pathogens.  These are sourced from animals, usually wildlife and occur in certain "hotspots" around the equator.  Many of them, however, are emerging in the southern part of the United States.

In the United States, superbugs and drug-resistant strep as well as bird flu remain principal problems.  The present symposium discussions are examining to to develop new vaccines against these threats.

With the recent food scares related to eggs and other foods creating widespread illnesses, the whole problem of infections caused in this manner are a serious topic of discussion among scientists with scientists recommending food irradiation as a solution. 

 In his interview entitled  Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases: A Global Problem, Stephen C. Morse, Ph. D. of the Center for Public Health Preparedness, says this is not media hype.  The problem is real.  

Morse summarizes his position this way, "We go from crisis to crisis. When the crisis happens, we pour money into it, whether it’s mosquito control or immunization or whatever it is. Then the crisis abates and we forget the problem. We need a way to sustain public health capabilities and build better systems across the world. It is, after all, a global problem. We’re in this together."