Durhamregion.com | NewsView Map | Photos | Videos | Goldbook | Faces 2009 Digital | Dating | Events | Flyers | Marketplace | Special Reports | Movies | Features

Durham doctor recognized for groundbreaking malaria research

Study shows malaria drugs increase antibiotic resistance

Aug 05, 2008 - 12:05 PM

By Jillian Follert

OSHAWA -- Warnings that increased use of antibiotics can cause bacteria to become resistant are nothing new.

But what Durham resident Dr. Michael Silverman discovered about antibiotic resistance while working in the rainforests of Guyana, is.

From 2002 to 2005, the doctor from Lakeridge Health Oshawa and Rouge Valley Ajax was part of a health care team that travelled to remote parts of Guyana to do humanitarian medical work.

While there, they decided it would be interesting to test Amer-Indian villagers living just outside the rainforest, to see if they showed any signs of resistance to a family of antibiotics called quinolones -- especially because they had never been given any.

"We always look at places that use a lot of antibiotics, and find resistance," Dr. Silverman said. "I thought, why not look at a place where they have no antibiotics? It seemed like a unique population to look at."â?¨ The results left the team stunned.

More than 500 villagers were tested for resistance to ciprofloxacin, one of the world's most commonly used antibiotics in the quinolone family.

Researchers found a resistance rate of 4.8 per cent, compared with a 2003 study that said the rate in American intensive care units -- where quinolones are widely used -- was four per cent.

"They are some of the highest rates of resistance to quinolones in the world, yet they don't have antibiotics there," Dr. Silverman said.

The team quickly put two and two together, realizing the villagers had been taking large amounts of malaria tablets containing chloroquine, which has a chemical make-up similar to quinolones.

They theorized that the malaria tablets were responsible for creating the antibiotic resistance, and the results of the study were published in July in PLoS ONE, a prestigious medical journal. The story was also featured by media around the world, including Reuters and the BBC in Britain.

Dr. Silverman said the research is important because it suggests that treating people in the developing world with chloroquine, might boost their resistance to antibiotics, making it harder to treat deadly diseases like tuberculosis, typhoid fever, cholera and dysentery.

"This shows that we have to find another way to control malaria," Dr. Silverman said. "We have to give out nets and find a vaccine, instead of relying on the tablets."

He said the study has implications for people outside the developing world too, saying antibiotic resistant bacteria can be transmitted around the world, and that fluoroquinolones are among the most commonly used antibiotics in North America.

"This has big public health implications, because we're all related," he said.

Recommend :

Latest News

Oshawa bank robbed
Durham drug cops announce $3M bust
Newcastle area asked to conserve water now
Pickering fireworks vendors robbed on Canada Day
Hijacked rig unloaded in Ajax
Boy, 15, charged in Pickering sex assault
Suspect in numerous Durham break-ins busted
Sentenced to life in Pickering murder, Cyr denies guilt
Five Durham beaches posted unsafe for swimming
Cops disperse pot party in Oshawa
Media Mash Most Viewed Videos
Death of Pat Gostlin still haunts husband Death of Pat Gostlin still haunts husband

It has been more than six months since teacher and Green Par...

Deer bounds through neighbourhood Deer bounds through neighbourhood

Police, Ajax and Whitby officials were able to safely captur...

Fighting West Nile Fighting West Nile

The Durham Region Health Department is switching gears in it...

Salute and a prayer Salute and a prayer

A young boy from Brooklin paid special tribute with a salute...

Uxbridge farm an international destination Uxbridge farm an international destination

The Family Nickle Happy Farm on Feasby Road is registered on...

The new GM The new GM

The company that was once Like a Rock is getting down to bus...

Previous
1
/ 6
Previous

Blogs


Scene and Heard with Will McGuirk
Mariposa this weekend
Technically Speaking
Touch me, feel me!
Past, Present and Future
Fight for your right
People, Places and Things
My to-do list for July
People, Places and Things
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Word Count
Ajax Canada Day
Scene and Heard with Will McGuirk
Get your Grandma outta here... Here comes KI$$