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Infection with antibiotic-resistant microbes, often referred as super-bugs, in hospitals can be a common problem. A conventional solution to the problem is to find a new antibiotic. This solution simply accelerates an arms race between microbes and pharmaceutical companies which try to develop an effective antibiotic. We should search for a completely new approach to the problem. This book might suggest an alternative approach for the superbug problem. It describes the tragic experience of a student nurse, Betty, who performed the world's first fecal transplant. It is t well kwn to the general public, but there are some diseases that infect mostly patients in hospitals. These diseases are often referred to as post-operative complications or a new infection, due to patients' weakened immune system. Pseudo membraus colitis (PM colitis) was one of such diseases, which predominantly affects patients after surgery of the digestive system. It had a high fatality rate, but there was kwn effective treatment. An odd circumstance pushed Betty to perform the world's first fecal transplant and demonstrate its effectiveness. However, because of the stigma attached to feces, fellow medical staff ridiculed her to such a degree that she could t remain as a staff nurse. Later academic researchers identified the pathogen of PM colitis as Clostridium difficile (C. diff), and renamed the disease C-diff infection. Again although fecal transplant was an effective treatment for the disease, the mainstream establishment of the medical community igred the treatment. When C. diff evolved an antibiotic-resistant strain, hundred-thousands of patients died in hospitals every year around the world. In the United States, bureaucratic hurdles prevented research of fecal transplant, despite such a high mortality rate. Eventually, the news of effectiveness of fecal transplant spread on the Internet and many patients started doing by themselves with help of friends and relatives because medical doctors were unwilling to perform such illegal treatment. In 2013, after more than fifty years from Betty's action, FDA finally and reluctantly allowed doctors to perform fecal transplant for limited cases of C-diff infection. FDA also renamed the procedure FMT (Fecal Microbiota Transplantation.) Meanwhile Betty suffered personal tragedy, but she finally retired and enjoyed her peaceful life kwing that the mainstream of the medical community accepted fecal transplant, even for limited cases. This book also comments on the FDA and NIH's role in new drug development, especially concerned about Ebola epidemic.

Product Identifiers

PublisherCreateSpace

ISBN-101507834632

ISBN-139781507834633

eBay Product ID (ePID)214439602

Product Key Features

AuthorYashi Nozawa

FormatTrade Paperback (Us) ,Unsewn / Adhesive Bound, Paperback / Softback

LanguageEnglish

TopicMedicine: General

Additional Product Features

Content NoteBlack & White Illustrations

Author BiographyYashi Nozawa was born in Tokyo, Japan. He came to the United States for graduate studies and received M.S and Sc.D. degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT. After his retirement from engineering, he began writing as a second career. He writes in two different fields: the genre of biographical fictions and memoirs, and science and religions, specializing in the rational explanation of religious phenomena. He has written several dozen articles in both fields for periodicals. He has also published, Temporary Permanence, subtitled My Life in America: Humorous Short Stories Based on Experiences of a Japanese Engineer, a collection of autobiographical short stories. Readers of the book have praised his O. Henry-style writing and made it a local best seller. Don't Be Afraid of Air Raids is the second book in his memoir series, but the first book dealing with the war experience. In the science-religion series, he published, The Spring Connections: Easter, Passover and Others, (as Dr. Yasushi Nozawa). The book is about the deep-rooted tradition of spring celebrations and their interaction with calendar systems. He also disclosed his new interpretation of the meaning of the Israelites' Exodus from Egypt in the book. Betrayal, Resurrection, and Conversion: An Atheist's View, is his second book in the science and religion field. He discloses three bold new hypotheses, explaining major miracles in Christianity in rational and logical ways. The First Christmas is his third book in the science-religion series. It covers the origin, dispersion, and evolution of Christmas celebrations and associated events of early American exploration. He also started this Ten Minute Book series to publish his many short essays in various fields.

Date of Publication14/05/2015

Country of PublicationUnited States