Evolution and Antibiotic Resistance
People who believe in evolution frequently do not know what it means, conflating evolution with variation and natural selection. Too often, I see comments such as, "We know that evolution is true because we need to get a flu shot every year", or, "Antibiotic resistance is proof of evolution". Darwin's Cheerleaders who use such remarks are showing that they are enthusiastic but uninformed — we most definitely do not see any evidence of microbes-to-man evolution.
The belief in evolution has harmed science and society, and it hinders medical science. Instead of using bad presuppositions, scientists need to spend more time actually learning how antibiotics work and how to make them more effective. At least, they've learned that excessive use of antibiotics is helping the resistant microbes thrive. That's a start. |
| Credit: CDC / Cynthia S. Goldsmith and Thomas Rowe |
New methodology may help combat what some consider a modern evolutionary nightmare.
Antibiotic-resistant “nightmare bacteria,” experts agree, “pose a catastrophic threat” worldwide. The Centers for Disease Control has just issued its 2013 analysis of the escalating morbidity and mortality due to antibiotic resistance. To no one’s surprise, the problem is rapidly getting worse. CDC data show that at least 2 million people in the United States alone get infected with antibiotic resistant bacteria yearly. At least 23,000 die as a direct result, and many more die from conditions complicated by antibiotic-resistant infections. And while most deaths occur due to infections acquired in health-care facilities, overuse of the antibiotics has led to the development of reservoirs of resistant bacteria throughout the population and the environment.You can read the rest of this important article by Elizabeth Mitchell, MD at "Does Deadly Antibiotic Resistance Mean Evolution Wins?"