48 HOURS will broadcast "Silent Killers this Friday, September 20th on CBS at 7pm. 48 HOURS will be taking an in-depth look at bacterial infections and their resistance to certain antibiotics. The show will also investigate the difficulties of living with food allergies and the dangers of bacterial meningitis-a real threat to college students. Here's the blurb from their website. Correspondent Susan Spencer reports on superbugs, bacteria that have evolved to resist antibiotics. Mike Shnayerson, co-author of The Killers Within with Mark Plotkin, says of the superbugs, "They are the ultimate Darwinian survivors." Are people getting too many antibiotics these days? The co-authors also tell Spencer they think too many doctors feel that antibiotics do no harm and that it's better to give them than not. In addition, patients demand antibiotics, even for viral infections such as colds, which antibiotics can't cure. The authors also point out that large amounts are used in farm feed, which are then transferred to humans during consumption. Dr. David Witt, an infectious disease specialist at Kaiser Permanente in California, says, "I think we're looking at the end of the antibiotic era if we don't start changing our behavior." However, in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, at the Eliava Institute, researchers use a very different treatment for infection called bacteriophage, or "phage," which is a natural alternative to antibiotics. Phages are harmless viruses that attack and kill bacteria and are found everywhere in nature. Spencer reports from the former Soviet Republic about this treatment that has been around for more than 60 years. Phages are used in hospitals to treat wounds, infections and burns and are very inexpensive at $2.50 for 10 doses. The treatment is unavailable in the U. S. because it has never undergone the rigorous testing the country's system demands. Shnayerson says, "Given the fix that we're in with the rise of resistance [to antibiotics], we need to look at other approaches, and phage is just one of several." A few small companies in the U. S. are beginning carefully controlled studies using phages. Correspondent Peter Van Sant reports on a devastating disease that strikes mostly college freshman: bacterial meningitis. Twenty-one-year-old John Kach of Carmel, N.Y. was in his freshman year of college at Salve Regina University in Newport, R.I., when the star athlete almost died after he contracted the disease. His hands and most of one leg had to be amputated. A simple vaccine, readily available, might have prevented his tragedy. Now, Kach is speaking out to encourage college students to get this vaccination that can possibly save a life. <http://www.cbsnews.com/48Hours> www.cbsnews.com/48Hours Erin E. Jordahl Director, Iowa Chapter Sierra Club 3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280 Des Moines, IA 50310 515-277-8868 [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask]