After seeing the various Extremist islamic terrorist attacks recently in Europe and USA we are forgetting something
Day 1 A 34-year-old New Hampshire expectant mother visits her doctor’s office complaining of severe stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and chills. She is diagnosed with an intestinal infection, given intravenous fluids and a prescription for a fluoroquinolone—an antibiotic—and is sent home.
Day 2 At a Massachusetts hospital’s emergency room, a 2-year-old boy with a severe case of diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration, and fever is given fluids and administered a cephalosporin, another type of antibiotic, and is admitted to the hospital.
Day 4 The boy’s lab results come back identifying the cause of his illness as Salmonella, a common foodborne bacterial infection, but, in this instance, the “bug” is highly resistant to the antibiotics commonly used to treat such infections, including cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones. The baby boy dies of dehydration and bloodstream infection. As for the 34-year-old woman, the Salmonella infection results in a miscarriage of an otherwise normal baby followed by the woman’s death.
Day 5 325 people are dead. Thousands—many of them children, the elderly, and other vulnerable individuals—jam emergency rooms across the Northeast complaining of similar symptoms. Cases have been reported in 15 states along the East Coast and in the Mid-Atlantic region. Isolated cases are reported in other states, including Texas and California. Fourteen cases are reported in Mexico and 27 cases in Canada.
Day 6 1,730 deaths and 220,000 illnesses have occurred in the United States. The epidemic expands in other countries. Canada, Mexico, and Europe close their borders to U.S. food imports, and travel initiated from the United States is banned around the globe. Economic losses to the U.S. and global economies soon reach tens of billions of dollars. The Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identifiy the source of the infections as a milk distribution facility located in New York state. They confirm that the Salmonella not only causes severe illness, but also is resistant to all available antibiotics. Doctors can only provide supportive care, not specific, antibiotic treatment.
Day 7 The number of deaths and illnesses continues to climb. Think it can’t happen? Think again. In 1985, milk contaminated with Salmonella typhimurium infected 200,000 people across the Midwest. What distinguishes that case from our scenario is the development of a fully antibiotic-resistant strain of the bacteria as compared to the one that is only partially drug-resistant. Such “bad bugs” are evolving. Some are already here. Had bioterrorism prompted this scenario, infection rates could have been significantly higher, as several sources could have been intentionally contaminated. The toll on human lives and the U.S. economy would have been substantially worse.Can we avert this catastrophe? If we act now, the answer is yes.
Day 1 A 34-year-old New Hampshire expectant mother visits her doctor’s office complaining of severe stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and chills. She is diagnosed with an intestinal infection, given intravenous fluids and a prescription for a fluoroquinolone—an antibiotic—and is sent home.
Day 2 At a Massachusetts hospital’s emergency room, a 2-year-old boy with a severe case of diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration, and fever is given fluids and administered a cephalosporin, another type of antibiotic, and is admitted to the hospital.
Day 4 The boy’s lab results come back identifying the cause of his illness as Salmonella, a common foodborne bacterial infection, but, in this instance, the “bug” is highly resistant to the antibiotics commonly used to treat such infections, including cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones. The baby boy dies of dehydration and bloodstream infection. As for the 34-year-old woman, the Salmonella infection results in a miscarriage of an otherwise normal baby followed by the woman’s death.
Day 5 325 people are dead. Thousands—many of them children, the elderly, and other vulnerable individuals—jam emergency rooms across the Northeast complaining of similar symptoms. Cases have been reported in 15 states along the East Coast and in the Mid-Atlantic region. Isolated cases are reported in other states, including Texas and California. Fourteen cases are reported in Mexico and 27 cases in Canada.
Day 6 1,730 deaths and 220,000 illnesses have occurred in the United States. The epidemic expands in other countries. Canada, Mexico, and Europe close their borders to U.S. food imports, and travel initiated from the United States is banned around the globe. Economic losses to the U.S. and global economies soon reach tens of billions of dollars. The Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identifiy the source of the infections as a milk distribution facility located in New York state. They confirm that the Salmonella not only causes severe illness, but also is resistant to all available antibiotics. Doctors can only provide supportive care, not specific, antibiotic treatment.
Day 7 The number of deaths and illnesses continues to climb. Think it can’t happen? Think again. In 1985, milk contaminated with Salmonella typhimurium infected 200,000 people across the Midwest. What distinguishes that case from our scenario is the development of a fully antibiotic-resistant strain of the bacteria as compared to the one that is only partially drug-resistant. Such “bad bugs” are evolving. Some are already here. Had bioterrorism prompted this scenario, infection rates could have been significantly higher, as several sources could have been intentionally contaminated. The toll on human lives and the U.S. economy would have been substantially worse.Can we avert this catastrophe? If we act now, the answer is yes.
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