Norway: the most infection free country in the world

[n2doc]

January 1, 10:25 AMHartford Wellness Examiner Diana Duel

Once upon a time Norway was just like everyone else, fighting a losing battle against bacteria. Then one day, their public health system decided to fight back by limiting the use of antibiotics, and today the country is now know as the "most infection free nation in the world," according to the World Health Organization, which blames antibiotic resistance as one of the leading threats to public health worldwide.

In fact, a six month investigation conducted by the Associated Press determined that overuse of medicines has resulted in the formation of mutations by once curable diseases into fierce new strains that have become almost impossible to treat. These include diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis.

Here in the United States, approximately 19,000 people die unnecessarily from bacterial infections such as MRSA (methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus) each year. This is more than the number of annual deaths from AIDS. However, Norway's methods show that this can be prevented quite simply.

"We don't throw antibiotics at every person with a fever. We tell them to hang on, wait and see, and then we give them a Tylenol to feel better," states Dr. Jon Birger Haug of Aker hospital in Oslo.

http://www.examiner.com/x-11270-Hartford-Wellness-Examiner~y2010m1d1-Norway-the-most-infection-free-country-in-the-world

[marmar]

1. All that horrific socialized medicine.....

:scared:

[DBoon]

4. imagine! government rationing of antibiotics!

nt

[LWolf]

2. My son was just telling me about this article last week.

The same son mentioned in this related thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7380326

[postulater]

3. But how can their drug companies make a profit.

They rely on sickness.

Well, there goes their economy.

[pnh]

5. I wonder how much our "work ethic" is at fault.

Sometimes -- even the Tylenol the doctor speaks of in the article is unnecessary and adds to the problem and we might not even expect that if we didn't have to go to work that day or didn't need to send baby boy to school so we can go to work. Some time ago I read an article that said sometimes -- unless the fever itself is so high that it's dangerous -- it's better to let the fever do it's job. Of course -- it's hard to go to work/school when you're achy and the school nurse is going to send baby boy home at the slightest hint of fever -- so we quickly reach for the pain reliever/fever reducer.

I wonder because the warning that we abuse antibiotics has been out for a long time. I'm thinking I've been hearing it more than 20 years. When my 15 year old was born -- he was very premature and his doctors talked about how cautious they had to be in treating those babies because so many of our antibiotics have been rendered ineffective by abuse. There was one time my baby was ill that they were on the second to last option and it wasn't looking good -- but they said they hesitate to use the last one unless it seems the baby might die without it and the baby otherwise has a good chance of survival because if they start using it too often -- that one would quickly start to lose it's effectiveness and we'd be screwed.

So -- with us being warned for so long and our doctors certainly aware -- it begs the question -- why are we still abusing antibiotics?

[n2doc]

6. Because it is the "unthinking" way

We aren't alone in abusing antibiotics- go to Mexico or many other poorer countries and they hand them out like aspirin. It is the "intuitive" way to treat disease- hit it with something that provides a fast relief, no matter what the long term effects. This is typical of many of the US's responses to problems. the "adult" way is to carefully consider what is in the long term best interest of the patient, including trading off short term suffering for long term health. But we have forgotten how to say no to our spoiled citizens.

[LeftishBrit]

7. It's been recognized for a long time that overusing antibiotics contributes to resistance

In the UK, too, prescription of antibiotics is much lower than when I was a child.

There are a number or reasons for over-prescription. One is patient demand: especially people, who were brought up when antibiotics were used more frequently, may feel that their doctor isn't treating them properly if they don't get a pill.

But also: the Norwegian system requires more careful monitoring of patients. If you think that a patient MIGHT end up needing antibiotics, and you don't have the resources to monitor them closely, it's easier just to prescribe the tablets. Also, greater Norwegian health spending means cleaner and less crowded hospitals, which in themselves reduce the spread of infection. There can be a vicious (or in Norway a virtuous circle): choosing hospital cleaning services on the basis of price, and filling hospital wards to full capacity, results in spread of infections, which leads to greater use of antibiotics for treatment and prophylaxis, which leads to increasing numbers of antibiotic-resistant infections...

[hedgehog]

8. Does anyone know how the amount of antinbiotics used for sick people

compares to the amount of antibiotics used for "healthy" food animals to speed up weight gain?

[Shallah Kali]

9. 70% of antiiotics used in the US are used in livestock. Worldwide use in livestock is 50% - link

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9CSGMM80.htm

Researchers say the overuse of antibiotics in humans and animals has led to a plague of drug-resistant infections that killed more than 65,000 people in the U.S. last year -- more than prostate and breast cancer combined. And in a nation that used about 35 million pounds of antibiotics last year, 70 percent of the drugs -- 28 million pounds -- went to pigs, chickens and cows. Worldwide, it's 50 percent.

Stop Overusing Antibiotics on Healthy Farm Animals
Target: Congress
Sponsored by: Care2.com

Resistance to antibiotics is a public health crisis on the rise. These crucial drugs should only be used when necessary but 70 percent of antibiotics used in the United States are given to healthy chickens, pigs and cattle to increase weight gain or to prevent illnesses.

This overuse of antibiotics puts humans in danger because it spreads bacteria that develop resistances to life-saving drugs. That's why we need to pass the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act, which will make the Food and Drug Administration reevaluate agricultural uses of the seven classes of antibiotics that are important to human health.

Urge your member of Congress to pass the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act and help end the overuse of medically important antibiotics in feed for farm animals that aren't sick.


http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/374076373

Another petition to support this bill sponsored by Union of Concerned Scientists:
https://secure3.convio.net/ucs/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1924&s_src=wac&s_subsrc=website

[hedgehog]

12. Thanks! I figured the numbers were something like that!

I didn't have time to make the search, and I thought more people needed to be aware of that aspect of the problem.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

10. They are certainly overused and they certainly have their place.

Most of the overuse is in children because of helicopter parents and in all honesty the internet doesn't help.

[eppur_se_muova]

11. Get rid of the antiviral Kleenex, too. nt