Word: bug
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...wouldn't know it to read the papers, but doctors have lately been scrambling to contain a growing epidemiological brushfire, one caused by a nasty little bug almost none of us have heard of but too many of us could encounter soon. The pathogen is known as Clostridium difficile-or C. diff as the scientists call it-a bacterium that used to confine itself to elderly or very ill hospital patients, causing severe diarrhea and nausea. A few doses of antibiotics used to be all it took to knock...
...What doctors do know about all strains of C. diff they don't like. The bug is found in the colon, is a known cause of colitis and can be spread by even trace amounts of feces. It's tougher to kill with antibacterial soap and household cleansers than many germs are, which means that while keeping clean helps, it's no guarantee. Worse, the new strain is resistant to the common type of antibiotics known as floroquinolones, easily shaking off one of the most powerful weapons doctors would normally use to control...
...Overuse of antibiotics helped breed the new bug in two ways. First, the simple rules of natural selection dictate that when a drug kills most of the members of any species of pathogen, those individuals that do withstand the assault did so because they had a natural resistance to the chemical. It's the same phenomenon that breeds pesticide-resistant insects on farms. What's more, since many antibiotics wipe out numerous species of bacteria at once, the drugs inadvertently create a nice, clear field in which those that do survive can thrive...
...Novak said last Tuesday in North Carolina, according to a report in the Raleigh News & Observer. “I’d be amazed if he doesn’t.”He continued, “So I say, don’t bug me. Don’t bug Bob Woodward. Bug the president as to whether he should reveal who the source is.”White House spokesman Scott McClellan dismissed Novak’s claim on Thursday. “I don’t know what he’s basing...
...INJURY BUG...