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| Happy Wednesday, and welcome to my weekly moment of horror that yet another week of my life has gone by. As if grappling with my own mortality wasn’t enough, I’ve also been grappling with the possibility of a “post-antibiotic era,” thanks to a new report from the United Nations. |
| Ominously titled “Bracing for Superbugs,” the report details the current state of global antimicrobial resistance and, y’all, things aren’t looking good. So brace yourself, because today we’re getting real about the threat of superbugs and what it might mean for the future of healthcare. |
| We’ll also be talking about: |
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the plausibility of a mushroom zombie apocalypse |
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the brewing humanitarian crisis in the Middle East |
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Stay sharp,
Ginger Wojcik
Newsletter Editor, Healthline |
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Written by Ginger Wojcik
February 15, 2023 • 7 min read |
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| Don’t let the superbugs bite |
Thanks to antimicrobial medications like antibiotics, antivirals, and antifungals, you and I get to wake up each morning unworried about dying from a common illness or minor injury. But with the rise of superbugs (lookin’ at you, drug-resistant gonorrhea), experts are concerned this blissful era is coming to a close. “In reviewing thousands of urine cultures, I can tell you that antibiotic resistance is very real, and it’s only getting worse,” says family nurse practitioner Alison Harris.
One of the basic facts of microbiology is that the more you kill off an organism, the more chances it has to mutate and get better at surviving. So the more you use antimicrobials, the quicker you’ll get to antimicrobial resistance. And, boy, do we use a lot of them.
Let’s take animal agriculture, for example. In the United States, 80% of all antibiotics are used to improve growth and prevent infection (read: to improve the bottom line) in livestock. This not only promotes drug resistance, but it also means humans are easily exposed to drug-resistant bugs through contact with undercooked or uncooked meat.
Overprescription in healthcare isn’t helping, either. “Despite a ton of evidence that antibiotics are not necessary in certain situations, providers often feel obligated [to prescribe antibiotics] due to patient expectations or fear of receiving a bad review,” Harris explains.
OK, so what now? Rest assured that we’re not all doomed –– there’s still time to save ourselves and fight these superbugs. According to Oladele Ogunseitan, PhD, we need a “transformative change in healthcare” to focus on preventing infections from the get-go, whether it be during surgery, at home, or in personal care products. The recent example of contaminated eye drop solutions is just the tip of the iceberg, he says.
According to Ogunseitan, other effective strategies may include:
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- pharmaceutical companies investing in developing new antibiotics
- severely restricting the use of antibiotics across all sectors
- safely disposing of expired antibiotics to reduce environmental contamination
- teaching the public how to use antibiotics safely (e.g., finishing the whole course)
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tl;dr: A new report from the United Nations calls the threat of superbugs “urgent and critical.” The rampant overuse of antimicrobials in farming and healthcare is a driving force behind this growing antimicrobial resistance. Experts are calling for “transformational change” in healthcare as well as other major shifts in how the world uses antimicrobials.
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| Secrets for Better Sex |
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| Tell me how you want it |
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| Because partnered sex is a shared experience between multiple people — and we can’t read each other’s minds (yet) — we have to find a way to communicate our needs, fears, desires, etc. Communication is key to reaching peak pleasure, and it’s also necessary for safer sex. Some questions you might ask a new partner include: |
• Do you prefer to be touched roughly or gently?
• What turns you on/off?
• When was the last time you were tested for STIs?
• Are there any areas or body parts that are off-limits?
• Are there any areas of pain I should know about?
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| If verbal communication just isn’t your thing, don’t fret. That’s actually pretty normal. Start by letting your partner know that you aren’t big on words and may need some patience. If it feels like there’s a deeper issue at play, unresolved trauma, for example, reaching out to a mental health professional may be a big help. |
| Lastly, give yourself some grace. For most people, asking for what you want naturally gets easier with time and experience. |
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| Look who’s talking |
“We’ve got a lot of people who have survived now out in the open and in worsening and horrific conditions. We’ve got major disruption to basic water supplies; we’ve got major disruption to fuel, electricity supplies, communication supplies, the basics of life. We are in real danger of seeing a secondary disaster which may cause harm to more people than the initial disaster if we don’t move with the same pace and intensity as we are doing on the search and rescue side.”
– WHO Senior Emergency Officer Dr. Adelheid Marschang |
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| The 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the Middle East last week is one of the deadliest and most destructive quakes this century. Deaths from the initial quake have surpassed 35,000, and millions more lives are in jeopardy. If you would like to donate to the relief effort, check out Charity Navigator’s list of reputable aid organizations, which includes information on their track records and financial accountability.
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| How worried should we be about mushrooms starting a zombie apocalypse? |
I just started watching “The Last of Us” — a new HBO series about a pandemic of parasitic mushrooms that turn people into zombies — and, like millions of others, I find myself newly interested in (terrified of?) mycology.
The show’s star monster character is Cordyceps, a genus of mushrooms that take over the bodies of insects just as gruesomely in real life as in the show. Beginning in the larvae, Cordyceps slowly grow inside the body of an infected insect until it eventually bursts out through the insect’s head and rains spores down on all of its unsuspecting insect friends.
Thankfully, experts aren’t too worried about Cordyceps making the jump to humans. “I’m a science-fiction fan and I love weaving the creative elements of fungi into the narrative,” OG mycologist Paul Stamets wrote on Instagram. “But let’s get real. Cordyceps cannot infect humans.”
How can he be so sure? Research shows that mammals are highly resistant to fungi for two main reasons: our high internal body temperature and our state-of-the-art immune systems. In fact, we may have evolved to run so hot specifically to keep fungi at bay. Similarly, our immune responses include defenses that are specialized to ward off fungal infections.
That being said, there are fungi we should take seriously. According to Dr. Anne Meneghetti, the devastating impact of fungal infections is very real and prevalent. In 2021, more than 7,000 people died from fungal infections, and Valley fever, a fungal disease typically prevalent in the Southwest, has spread to new regions, she says.
For now, try to enjoy shows like “The Last of Us” and push off your worries about a mushroom-induced zombie apocalypse for another day … hopefully one day far into the future.
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| The Turkey-Syria quake is the most recent reminder of how suddenly lives can be upended by a natural disaster. And while much of the fallout is out of our control (you probably can’t do much to ensure a city builds earthquake-safe structures, for example), there’s plenty you can do to prepare yourself for a catastrophe. If you want quick peace of mind, you may invest in a premade disaster kit. If you’re more of a DIYer, you may compile your own list of supplies based on your specific situation, geography, budget, and creativity. |
| We want to know: What’s in your disaster kit? Let us know at wellnesswire@healthline.com. (Please note that we may share your name and response in an upcoming newsletter!) |
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Last week, we asked you all where you draw the line when watching internet content. We wanted to share this response from Wellness Wire reader Verchella D.
I DO NOT watch or listen to the news pertaining to such violence. Phone calls from certain people with only bad news can also have an effect of trauma on my sleep, day, week, etc., especially when it comes to brutality of (any) race by police officers or whomever against whomever. However, I'm more affected when it comes to people of color, as I am a BLACK WOMAN. When I hear about such violence, it immediately reminds me of what my ancestors went through.
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