Researchers turn to sea weed to develop new antibiotics

News from: ngguardiannews.com

A research team from the University of Exeter, Exeter, South West England, are trying to use the antimicrobial properties of seaweeds from the country’s coastline to develop a new generation of antibiotics in a bid to fight the growing threat of resistant super-bugs.

A report released on Monday in London by the researchers noted that as the number of multidrug-resistant bacteria, also known as superbug, rises, there is an urgent need for new drugs that can be used to treat infections when others fail.

Michiel Vos, who led the study, said antibiotic resistance is a serious and growing global problem.

He said a previous World Health Organisation (WHO) report stated that it is “now a major threat to public health”.

Vos said findings have revealed that natural environments can be a rich source of antibiotics.

He said as a result of this scientists are trying to uncover properties that could form the basis for a new generation of antibiotics that can curb infections caused by superbugs, such as MRSA.

“Our early experiments have confirmed that seaweeds hold a diverse array of antimicrobial properties.

“Excitingly, some of these extracts are most effective against some of the more resistant and problematic bacteria and we are hoping our work will help to make the discovery of new drugs quicker and cheaper,” he said.

Vos noted that with its rich abundance of coastline and seaweed species, Cornwall, a coastal area in southwest Britain, is the perfect place for such research.

He said taking the ideas further the team would create a dedicated research project that can really shed light on the potential they were seeing.

Drug Mis-use:Chlorhexidine digluconate and corneal ulceration in chuldren in Yobe, Nigeria

NOTES TO PHARMACISTS- THE IMPORTANCE OF PATIENT COUNSELLING

When events like these take place, the following questions come to mind.

1. Was there a pharmacist involved in this transaction?

or

2. Or did the  medicine  just move from the Nurse, Doctor, Shelf, Healthcare assistant to a patient without counselling.

For the benefit of those who may not know what I'm referring to, there was a story out a few days ago regarding an unfortunate incident in Yobe State where three mothers received health kits with tubes resembling eye drops.

Naturally the mothers instilled drops of the product, chlorhexidine digluconate 7.1% which is actually intended for use as an umbilical cord antiseptic and this led to corneal ulceration( injury to the cornea)-- permanent blindness.

Every tried googling Yobe? If you do, all you'll find in the image section are photos of death and war. So don't be so quick to judge the mothers. There's a high level of illiteracy in Yobe and that one more reason why Pharmacists and Healthcare professionals must adopt creative techniques of communicating with our patients and ensuring that they are well counseled before handing over medicines. 

I once practiced in Ghana as part of my and has to learn a little "Twi" in order to properly counsel patients on medication use. It is our duty as healthcare professionals to protect the public ensuring that they are adequately educated.

Truvada: HIV prevention pill records 100% success rate

Dear Readers,

Information from The Guardian Nigeria's online page suggest that there has been some success with blue HIV prevention pill. A new study found that 100 per cent of the participants taking HIV/AIDS prevention pill remained infection free.

According to the Guardian, the study was conducted at Kaiser Permananete in San Fransisco, United States(U.S). involved more than 600 high-risk individuals , most of who were men who have sex with men.  These individuals were healthy at the time of enrollment and were put on a daily regimen pill.

The study spanned two years and a half years of observation and in this time, there wasn't a single infection among these subjects.

According to the Guardian

"Nigeria to begin study on pre-exposure prophylaxis( Prevention before you're even at risk). In Nnewi, Calabar , Jos .NACA roundtable calls for Nationwide introduction of novel drug."

Not long after the USFDA first approved this drug for HIV preventive use in 2012, the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation derided it as a "party drug" and warned that high risk individuals would use it instead of condoms-- raising the risk of transmission of other sexually transmitted diseases. #Tuvadawhore went viral.



In my opinion, I'd have to say that a lot drugs are abused and therefore the fact that some people might abuse it our overexpose themselves to infection is not enough reason to keep away from working on it and getting out.


What I wonder is, what proportion of the exposed population is actually willing to take a medication on a daily basis for the purpose of HIV prevention?

So what do you think?