The One Percent...

[moonshadow]

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[crfriend]

That, actually, is how drugs- and cleaning-agent- resistant bacteria get "created"! Since nothing is 100%, the ones that survive already tend to be somewhat resistant to {whatever} agent, and that trait is reinforced by repeated application.

So, sometimes jokes can accurately explain a problem.

[moonshadow]

So, sometimes jokes can accurately explain a problem.

Well that's pretty thought provoking.....

[partlyscot]

That, actually, is how drugs- and cleaning-agent- resistant bacteria get "created"! Since nothing is 100%, the ones that survive already tend to be somewhat resistant to {whatever} agent, and that trait is reinforced by repeated application.

So, sometimes jokes can accurately explain a problem.

True, but the rise in drug resistant disease is mostly caused by misuse of ant-bacterial treatments. Patients not completing a course of treatments is one way, because if they followed the treatment regime, and their immune system was strong enough, there wouldn't be any surviving bacteria (with resistance to that drug) from that batch that could then go and infect another. Overuse by farmers is another major cause, many farmers would give cattle sub therapeutic doses in water or feed, as this was found to improve weight gain. In the US, I'm pleased to find out it became illegal in 2017. It tended to increase antibiotic resistant bacteria in the cattle themselves, and ground water contamination from animal waste meant it was getting into the human food chain.

[crfriend]

True, but the rise in drug resistant disease is mostly caused by misuse of ant-bacterial treatments. Patients not completing a course of treatments is one way, because if they followed the treatment regime, and their immune system was strong enough, there wouldn't be any surviving bacteria (with resistance to that drug) from that batch that could then go and infect another.

Certainly no comic-strip can adequately call out all the factors in such a matter, but the concept can be gotten across.

I've held the notion for at least a dozen years that the attempts at hyper-sanitisation of the environment is doing active harm to youngsters insofar as their immune-systems are not getting a "good workout" and becoming "organically aware" of what they need to do. Couple that with rampant overuse of Penicillin-derived antibiotics in the 1950s and one has a bit of a toxic brew. Because of a noted forebear I received positively state-of-the-art medical care when I was a youngster (else I'd not be here) -- and that included the early understanding that antibiotics are useless against viral infections, so I got to suffer through my entire ration of head-colds; my late ex- on the other hand, recalls going to the doctor with a case of the sniffles and immediately getting a jab of Penicillin. We've come a way.

Overuse by farmers is another major cause, many farmers would give cattle sub therapeutic doses in water or feed, as this was found to improve weight gain. In the US, I'm pleased to find out it became illegal in 2017. It tended to increase antibiotic resistant bacteria in the cattle themselves, and ground water contamination from animal waste meant it was getting into the human food chain.

Again, true, and that's not going to be able to be compressed into four frames in a comic.

[john62]

And there is now a theory that childhood diseases happened to prime the immune system, vaccinations have prevented these diseases and some believe this could explain the massive increase in all types of auto immune disease.

John

[stevelous]

Vaccines do not stop anyone getting the disease but prepare the immune system to fight the infection thus preventing it incubating, making the victim ill and stops them becoming infectious.

So many theories but no proof that can stand examination.

[john62]

'So many theories but no proof that can stand examination.'


Yes but have any good blind studies been done?

John

[Sinned]

I theorise that as kids don't get their share of outdoor pursuits these days they don't build up immunity to outside effects such as pollen hence the reason for the rise in asthma cases. When young I would be out playing from when classes finished ( about 15:30 ) until it got dark which in summer could be 22:00ish. Yes, I broke bones falling from things, ate soil when I fell funnily, clambered through bushes and spent lots of time with my friends. Gut feeling, maybe. Can I prove it, no. Also the idea of cleaning up 99% of bacteria may not help. I don't want to be the proponent of filthy conditions but making things TOO clean means we don't have the exposure now that we did when I was young.

[moonshadow]

I'm not very hygienic. I don't carry a bottle of sanitizer around with me. When working for playing outdoors I often get dirt in my mouth. I play with animals and go right on and eat lunch.

On the other hand, when it comes to humans I generally am more careful, because humans can be pretty disgusting. I will wash my hands after using the restroom and in public restrooms I also grab the door handle with the paper towel I used to dry with.

If I have to raise the seat I do so with my shoe and God forbid I have to sit on the seat, but if an emergency warrants it I will line the seat with toilet paper first.

I don't go so far as to wipe down shopping carts. But I generally dont like eating it drinking from the same dishes and flatware that others have used. I refuse to eat off of others plates.

But if a dog or cat takes a bite out if my food, it doesn't bother me.

Yes... I have a pretty low opinion of humanity in general.... I've seen the way too many of them live.... literally sleeping in their own trash and feces. Most animals dont do that unless of course they have some type of disease.

[Fred in Skirts]

On the other hand, when it comes to humans I generally am more careful, because humans can be pretty disgusting. I will wash my hands after using the restroom and in public restrooms I also grab the door handle with the paper towel I used to dry with. If I have to raise the seat I do so with my shoe and God forbid I have to sit on the seat, but if an emergency warrants it I will line the seat with toilet paper first.

That is why I carry the sanitary wet wipes with me so that if I have to use the seat in a public rest room I can at least get it to be cleaner and more sanitary than it was. One of the things I hate is going in to a restroom and the last person did not flush the damn thing. I will flush it and then find another one to use. Or the idiot that pees on the seat. I believe that person should have it removed so that he has to sit and not be able to stand.

[dillon]

Want to know the most heavily contaminated thing you’ll touch today? It’s the steering wheel of your car. Every virus and bacterium that you contact with your hands gets deposited there, and few of us ever think of disinfecting it.

[john62]

We have skin and an immune system, why not let them do their job and forget about the wipes.

John

[Fred in Skirts]

We have skin and an immune system, why not let them do their job and forget about the wipes.
John

John, The reason I am wearing skirts today is because of an improperly cleaned toilet seat. That lead to blisters and infections.

[john62]

But was that because of skin not being intacted?

John