There was a very interesting interview on Radio 5 live earlier today. I did not catch the name of the Professor being interviewed however I did catch the essence of his presentation and also a little gem he threw in at the end of the piece.
The conversation was about the use of antibiotics, their misuse and historic prescribing of antibiotics for viral infections. As patients we have adopted a we need a pill culture and the guests thrust was that as patients we need to accept that from time to time we must trust our bodies and let them heal themselves. Viral infections cannot be treated with antibiotics. The Professor believes that a simple diagnostic test that could be performed in the GP surgery identifying a bacterial or viral infection would be of immense benefit to patients and doctors.
The interview moved on to the problems of MRSA and the facts that the super bugs are getting stronger.
When questioned about the research on new drugs to beat MRSA the response was this, its probably not economical for the drug corporations to work on a remedy for MRSA. What they want to do is invent a blockbuster drug that great numbers of the population will need to take every day for the rest of their lives.
So the question for me is how do we as a people, or as a country, or indeed as mankind encourage our drug companies to solve some of the worlds health problems even though some diseases may not be as profitable as others, economically speaking of course.
I'll do some research tomorrow and find out the name of the interviewee.
Update
Professor Richard James - University of Nottingham
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