Infectious Diseases in the News - Book Report/Review Example

Infectious Diseases in the News In the news article “Antibiotic resistance genes found in gut microbes of healthy kids,” the Washington University School of Medicine reports the presence of friendly microbes in the guts of healthy children, which have many resistance genes against antibiotics. Such genes elicit concern because harmful microbes may use them as an advantage to interfere with the working of antibiotics, which may lead to critical illnesses and,eventually, death. This is a report of the contents of the article and analysis of its relevance to MBI 111 Course.

Gautam, a professor in immunology and pathology, asserts that young children below the age of five years consumemore antibiotics than any other period in their entire lives. This exposure to antibiotics augments antibiotic resistance from harmful microbes. It is important to use antibiotics only when they are necessary. Various institutions including the Washingtonstate school of medicine conductedtests on a sample of 22 infants from 6 months to nineteen years. Their results showed existence of numerous resistant genes in gut microbes.

Further scientifictests proved the existence of approximately 2500 resistant genes through tests on microbial DNA against a number of antibiotics. The resistant genes impaired functioning of the majority of the drugs. Such genes were in DNA locations where they could move from onemicrobe to another. Infants lack gut microbes at birth but increase their number through ingestion. Gautam’s concentrates on meta-genomics and his studies with colleagues have now concentrated on establishment of resistome, which deals with antibiotic resistance on different children at different stages in their lives to provide a remarkable solution.

This would possibly validateresearch and provide ways of controlling such microbes to reduce illnesses and death as some microbes cause more death than HIV.The information in this articleis quite relevant to the Microorganisms and Human Disease (MBI 111) course. It helps me understand the different forms of microbes, their entry avenues such as oral and gastrointestinal, and their impact on the human society. For instance, the article depicts that there exists numerous harmless and harmful microbes in guts of young infants, butthey have antibiotic resistant genes in theirDNA, which can move fromone microbe to another when fighting the antibiotic.

The article shows how human societies should continue fighting microbes, such as Gautam’s work in meta-genomics and helps me understand the biology of such harmful organisms. This article is relevant to MBI 111 because it contains technical information that has augmented my intellectual curiosity and continued to increase my interest in knowing about infectious diseases. It has shown me how necessary it is to promote human health through extensive research, just like the Washington school of medicine and other institutions dedicated their resources and invested a lot when studying such microbes that are harmful to human health.

The article includes research and statistical presentations. With regard to my course objectives, this article encourages me to be ardent in research regarding the contemporary infectious diseases. The article addresses a drive towards the fighting and curbing of harmful microbes to reduce human suffering and promote health in the society. Work CitedWashington University School of Medicine. "Antibiotic resistance genes found in gut microbes of healthy kids." Medical News Today.MediLexicon, Intl., 16 Nov. 2013. Web.22 Nov. 2013.