Special Report: Antibiotic Resistant Diseases in Venezuela

If you did a survey, asking a bunch of more or less informed people about which they think is one of the most important scientific advances of the 20^th century, it´s very likely that antibiotic drugs is going to be one of the most popular answers. These new discoveries saved so many lives that it´s hard to have a clear picture.

As someone focused to technical and engineering approaches, my concern is not what to do with the new diseases. It´s evolutionary. It´s inevitable the appearance of such organisms. It´s just the way Mother Nature decided so life can keep going. But we have forgotten that, although we humans are (supposedly) the “most” evolved organisms, we are still part of the ecosystem, meaning with this that we´re just food or shelter for something else.

I´m sure many people are out there with tons of medical/scientific knowledge about this, much more than I know. This article is just intended to inform about the current state of the diffusion of such disease, and some useful tips in case an outbreak of some variant can cut loose. This could generate a real problem in other countries with a high population density. Not exactly a concern in Venezuela these times, but…you know what I mean. As a matter of fact, one of the attractive features of my homeland is a relatively low population density and a wide variety of microclimates. I won´t mention the negative aspects though, as they´re unrelated to the land itself.

I have some close acquaintances in the medical field in Venezuela. However, upon consulting them about this, I noticed a certain reticence. It´s quite logical though. They don´t know (yet) I am documenting weekly and publishing for our community and the rest of the world.

But when I read reports like this where people die because of diseases that were eradicated over 60 years ago it´s something to think about. I know, paludism is not combated with antibiotics, but still…

We all have read about the effects this resistance can generate in the future. And what I mean as “future” is the next 15 years. The lifespan of bacteria and yeasts are so short, that their mutation capability is huge, and this is a big problem for us, water and mineral walking bags that may become their potential habitat.

This is being treated with big secrecy. Chances are, it´s not only in Venezuela this is being covered up. There are tons of reasons why a serious government would cover those suspicious deaths.

Antibiotic-resistant diseases are on the uptick in Venezuela.

In Venezuela, there were reports of an increasing number of cases where Shigella strain treated with ciprofloxacin was ineffective. This was not directly related to the collapse, though. Honduras, Chile and Republica Dominicana had the same problem according to this report.

This is bad: that bacteria produces dysentery. Thank God there are some natural treatments that, although they can be slower than conventional medicines, can be as effective. Most of the cases, heal by themselves in a few days, once the body starts to react and using its own defenses. But in children under 5, it´s very dangerous. Kiddo had it a couple of times…and pediatricians were very specific on prescribing antibiotics: they can complicate themselves quite fast. I can´t be more thankful to God because the collapse hadn´t been started by then.

Statistics are reliable as long as the input is correct. Otherwise, it´s garbage.

It´s highly worrisome that one of the authorities (I mean the real ones) in the country, like MD. Jaime Torres, Chief of Tropical Medicine Institute from the Universidad Central de Venezuela (where I studied engineering and one of the best of South America) since 2013 several newborns have died because of the Candida Auris, one of the deadliest varieties of the antibiotic-resistant yeast strains. Even though, Dr. Torres believes it´s unlikely an epidemics of this disease in our territory, infections in already ill patients is something to be expected from now on.

This is just a small sample of resistant bacteria. I don´t think there is a way to measure how many others are out there, rather than using statistics or simulations based in the data the scientists already have got.

In times of collapse, people are more susceptible to infection.

One of my motivations to write this, was because a close friend (and one of the smarter persons I´ve known) almost dies while doing some shelves mounting at his apartment. He suffered a nasty infection (got a cut in one of his fingers that affected the bone) because, for some reason, the germs, or bacteria, or whatever he got, could get into his bone marrow (or something like that) and one week later he was in a private clinic, receiving an antibiotics cocktail enough to heal a horse, according to his own words, feeling his veins like being on fire.

That is one of the reasons why I´m so obsessive about wearing gloves and generally body armor: in these abnormal conditions, a wound can be bad, very bad. I´ve taught my kiddo how powerful is crushing some bark tree and throw it in boiling water to make an emergency antiseptic rinse solution for some open wound, provided there is no alcohol nor oxygenated water. But this is part of another article I will write about what survival skills (being in urban environments for the moment) I have taught to my kid.

Why is this important in the Venezuelan example? Because this infection agent affects mainly to those with a weak immune system, and this is exactly what malnutrition does: to get your defenses lower and lower. This is one of the symptoms that made us to start to believe this was engineered: first, scarcity, then hyperinflation, followed by lack of medicines.

If you don´t have money, you can´t eat well. If you are not properly fed, you get sick.

Depending on how sick you get, you could find medicines but, if you can´t afford them, your condition could keep worsening.

Once people dies…then it is one less problem. One potential opposition member less.

One supporter of the resistance less.

The herd gets smaller, and easier to control.

I´m just the messenger. Don´t judge me. Just pointing out the facts of what I have seen.

There are some promising advances.

I feel optimistic, though, because once you understand some basic principles of how Mother Nature works, you see how powerful the tools mankind has available are. My love for theoretical physics has taught me how powerful universe forces are: light, heat, inertia…in ways that we never could have imagined.

There are some other options with promising results, like the therapies with fagos, according to this article.  (please use your browser to translate it).

And, if there is something that our governments worldwide should have learned, is, regulation on the antibiotics prescription is not going to work. Developing new, innovative therapies without the risk of generating more resistant strains, is.

Teaching people to improve their natural defenses, works. Using modern digital technologies to track everyone´s usage of antibiotics, works. If AI is being used to track us, then, for God´s sake, put it to work in something useful, not on reading whatever one wants to write. Using AIs to develop new solutions for this type of problems, works. Using AI to develop new methods for industrial farming without the need for actual antibiotics staffing, should work. Avoiding abuse of antibiotics in big industrial cattle production, works. Sure, they need to flood their products with all kind of that stuff in order to be “productive”, and to keep the shareholders profits the way have always been.

That´s great, and I applaud it. Capitalism is great, as long as doesn´t start killing the coming generations for profit…and that shareholder should think about what could happen if one of his grandchildren gets sick in that fancy school in the Hamptons, a variety which can easily mutate into antibiotic-resistant lethal pneumonia. There´s no amount of money enough to cover that. If there are no next generations, then…what use has those huge profits anyway?…

And don´t even make me start thinking what would happen if those organisms fall in the wrong hands. Jeez.

In the meantime, we have some ways to use our own intelligence to get our system stronger: colloidal silver, natural herbs, just to mention a few. Come on people, this is an organic healing website. We all know how good garlic can be as an antibiotic, for example. And to make run away potential lovers if we’re not careful, too.

For every disease in nature, we can find the cure, in nature itself. We just haven’t found it yet.

This is why I fell in love with this website as soon as I arrived: the sustainable living concept is in every bit, in the first place.

Thanks for reading people!