The carriage of Escherichia coli resistant to antimicrobial agents by healthy children in Boston, in Caracas, Venezuela, and in Qin Pu, China
Article Abstract:
Bacterial resistance to antibiotics occurs in all countries around the world; however, the bacteria in patients from some countries may be more resistant to antibiotics than comparable bacterial isolates in other countries. Healthy children from three cities (Boston, Caracas, and Qin Pu) located on three different continents were studied to compare the rates of bacterial resistance to antibiotics. The organism Escherichia coli (E. coli) was obtained from stool samples of children aged five months to six years. The rate of antimicrobial resistance to E. coli was higher among children in Caracas and Qin Pu than among those in Boston. Nearly all the children tested in Caracas and Qin Pu had resistant fecal E. coli, while only half the children in Boston carried resistant strains. Healthy members of communities carry a large number of bacterial strains, including strains of E. coli. Recent studies have demonstrated the presence of large numbers of E. coli strains in stool samples in one third to two thirds of residents of developing countries. The wide use of antibiotics around the world has resulted in widespread emergence of bacterial resistance. There has been a selective overgrowth of organisms resulting in uneven distribution of resistance. Increased bacterial resistance results in increased treatment costs due to the use of new and expensive antibiotics. Ongoing surveillance of bacteria in healthy people is needed to monitor the potential antimicrobial resistance in cities and countries. Attaining low levels of resistant strains of bacteria in communities is a public health goal. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: The New England Journal of Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0028-4793
Year: 1990
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Beyond tamoxifen -- extending endocrine treatment for early-stage breast cancer
Article Abstract:
Doctors should be cautious about recommending the drug letrozole to women who have had a breast tumor surgically removed and have taken tamoxifen for five years. A five-year study of letrozole was prematurely stopped after only 2.5 years because the drug substantially reduced the risk of a cancer recurrence. However, it also has severe side effects and its long-term benefits are not known.
Publication Name: The New England Journal of Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0028-4793
Year: 2003
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Medical progress: ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast
Article Abstract:
Ductal carcinoma in situ is associated with changes in the surrounding breast parenchyma. It lies along a spectrum of preinvasive lesions originating within normal breast tissue, with histologic progression from a typical hyperplasia to invasive breast cancer.
Publication Name: The New England Journal of Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0028-4793
Year: 2004
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