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# RKS: ANTIMICROBIALS GALORE (III) - Antimicrobial Availability, Prescribing & Recommendations

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  # RKS: ANTIMICROBIALS GALORE (III) ANTIMICROBIAL AVAILABILITY, PRESCRIBING & RECOMMENDATIONS RKS / 2024-2025 / Ser 6 / Blog 5 1st February 2025 ANTIMICROBIAL GALAXY ANTIMICROBIAL STATISTICS Dear Reader, Antimicrobials are shunned by the layman. For any prescription given the standard question asked by a patient is which is the antibiotic and how strong is it and what are the side effects.  Surprising since the very same antimicrobial is prescribed to cure him and even save his / her life or, at the least, prevent from being hospitalized. Strong ingrained adverse perception for antimicrobials is the root cause of patient's longer suffering duration and, many a times, leading to hospitalization. Mind you, an infection detected within the first 48 hours of hospitalization was actually acquired doctor (Dr.) as an out patient department (OPD) consultation and could have been cured if antimicrobials were prescribed appropriately and consumed as instructed. This blog endeavors ...

# RKS: BUGS LOVE THEIR LIFE (II) - Bugs Also Need To Defend Themselves! (For Heaven's Sake)

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  # RKS: BUGS LOVE THEIR LIFE (II) BUGS ALSO NEED TO DEFEND THEMSELVES!  (FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE) RKS / 2024-2025 / Ser 6 / Blog 4 1st January 2025 BUGS vs DRs. IS A GAME OF CHESS UNDERSTANDING THE DEFENCE MECHANISMS OF BUGS Dear Reader, Self-preservation is a behavior or set of behaviors that ensures the survival of an organism. It is thought to be the universal norm among all living organisms including bugs. In fact, an organism's fitness is measured by its ability to pass on its genes. Another survival phenomenon has also been noticed in animals and humans (tribes, society, etc.) and that is cooperative survival. This is also the current trait amongst bugs resulting in emergence of the era of 'superbugs'. It is indeed interesting to decipher the mechanisms of how bugs become resistant to antibiotics and how the same is relevant, or even critical, from human health perspective. BACTERIAL RESISTANCE Bacterial resistance means the ability of bugs to withstand the effect o...

# RKS: BUGS & ANTI-BUGS (I) - Basics On Infecting Bacteria & Killer Drugs

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     # RKS: BUGS & ANTI-BUGS (I) BASICS ON INFECTING BACTERIA & KILLER DRUGS RKS / 2024-2025 / Ser 6 / Blog 3 1st December 2024 MICROORGANISMS INFECTING HUMANS UNDERSTANDING ANTIMICROBIALS & THEIR CAPABILITIES Dear Reader, A bug is microorganism and could be a virus, bacterium, fungus or a parasite. There are: 10 nonillion (1 followed by 30 zeroes in US and 54 zeroes in Great Britain) viruses on earth. 5 nonillion bacteria present on the earth. 2.5 million (mn) fungi species on earth. 1-3 lakh parasite species on earth.  Infection-related deaths reported globally are 13.7 mn in 2019 of which bacterial-related mortality accounted for 7.7 mn. Out of every 8 patients dying, 1 is on account of bacterial infection! Hence, bacteria are the most dangerous bugs for mankind.  One gram of soil holds 40 million (mn) bacterial cells whilst 1 mL of fresh water has 1 mn of these squirming in the liquid. Humans also harbor bacteria under normal circumstances a...