Health News
Americans, especially Kentuckians, are taking too many antibiotics and that is contributing to the decline in the drugs' effectiveness, says a study by a group associated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The study found that, in 2010, the five states with the highest antibiotic use were Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana. Such misuse is already showing up, reports USA Today, as lab reports show urinary tract infections were 30 percent more likely to resist antibiotic treatment in 2010 than in 1999.
Dr. Robert Salley, executive director of cardiovascular services for KentuckyOne Health in the Lexington market, told Cheryl Truman of the Lexington Herald-Leader that the overuse of antibiotics might reflect the state's problem with prescription pain pills. Many Kentuckians are used to "that culture of availability, that culture of not making appropriate use of the physician-patient relationship," he said. Experts have also noted that states that have lower rates of antibiotic use have spent money and time educating their residents about the dangers of overuse. Kentucky has not done that. (Read more)
Meanwhile, the Pew Health Group has released a study showing that 87 percent of Americans have a basic understanding of what antibiotics do, but many did not understand that antibiotic resistance was a major health issue and will only become more problematic in the future. Forty-one percent of Americans said they have never heard of the issue. For more information on that study, go here.
- 'superbug' Considered The Worst One Yet Is Still Not Widespread In Kentucky Hospitals, But Officials Predict It Is Coming
A new deadly superbug that is almost totally resistant to antibiotics and kills about half who get bloodstream infections has found its way to community hospitals in the Southeastern United States, Laura Ungar reports for The Courier-Journal. "We...
- Kentucky Ranks No. 4 In Painkiller Prescriptions; Neighboring States Are First, Second And Third
Powerful painkillers are a contributing factor in the the rising rate of overdose deaths in the U.S., especially in Kentucky, where officials have recommended more measures be taken to monitor painkiller prescriptions. Now the government is pointing out...
- Prescribing Antibiotics For Viral Infections Must Stop; Overuse Of Antibiotics Causes Antibiotic-resistant 'superbugs'
Bronchitis is a viral infection, and antibiotics are not effective for treating viral infections. Doctors know this, yet they continue to prescribe antibiotics to patients with bronchitis and other viral infections anyway, Ezra Klein reports on his new...
- Nightmare, Drug-resistant Superbugs, Including One That Kills Half The People Who Get It, Are A Big Threat
"Nightmare bacteria" leading to deadly infections that are difficult and sometimes impossible to treat are on the rise in American hospitals, and threaten to spread to otherwise healthy people outside of medical facilities, according to a federal Centers...
- Use Of Pacifiers Could Lead To Very Sick Babies, Study Finds
Oklahoma State University researchers report that they have found a wide range of disease-causing bacteria, fungus and mold on pacifiers that young children had been using. In research presented at the American Society for Clinical Pathology, scientists...
Health News
Kentucky is No. 1 state in overuse of antibiotics, a problem that poses wide dangers to the drugs' effectiveness
 |
| In 2010 the average number of dispensed outpatient antibiotic prescriptions was 801 per 1,000 Americans. In Kentucky it was 1,197. The darker the state, the higher the rate. (CDC map) |
The study found that, in 2010, the five states with the highest antibiotic use were Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana. Such misuse is already showing up, reports USA Today, as lab reports show urinary tract infections were 30 percent more likely to resist antibiotic treatment in 2010 than in 1999.
Meanwhile, the Pew Health Group has released a study showing that 87 percent of Americans have a basic understanding of what antibiotics do, but many did not understand that antibiotic resistance was a major health issue and will only become more problematic in the future. Forty-one percent of Americans said they have never heard of the issue. For more information on that study, go here.
- 'superbug' Considered The Worst One Yet Is Still Not Widespread In Kentucky Hospitals, But Officials Predict It Is Coming
A new deadly superbug that is almost totally resistant to antibiotics and kills about half who get bloodstream infections has found its way to community hospitals in the Southeastern United States, Laura Ungar reports for The Courier-Journal. "We...
- Kentucky Ranks No. 4 In Painkiller Prescriptions; Neighboring States Are First, Second And Third
Powerful painkillers are a contributing factor in the the rising rate of overdose deaths in the U.S., especially in Kentucky, where officials have recommended more measures be taken to monitor painkiller prescriptions. Now the government is pointing out...
- Prescribing Antibiotics For Viral Infections Must Stop; Overuse Of Antibiotics Causes Antibiotic-resistant 'superbugs'
Bronchitis is a viral infection, and antibiotics are not effective for treating viral infections. Doctors know this, yet they continue to prescribe antibiotics to patients with bronchitis and other viral infections anyway, Ezra Klein reports on his new...
- Nightmare, Drug-resistant Superbugs, Including One That Kills Half The People Who Get It, Are A Big Threat
"Nightmare bacteria" leading to deadly infections that are difficult and sometimes impossible to treat are on the rise in American hospitals, and threaten to spread to otherwise healthy people outside of medical facilities, according to a federal Centers...
- Use Of Pacifiers Could Lead To Very Sick Babies, Study Finds
Oklahoma State University researchers report that they have found a wide range of disease-causing bacteria, fungus and mold on pacifiers that young children had been using. In research presented at the American Society for Clinical Pathology, scientists...