{"id":9156,"date":"2019-04-07T19:03:18","date_gmt":"2019-04-07T23:03:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/?p=9156"},"modified":"2019-04-08T15:25:47","modified_gmt":"2019-04-08T19:25:47","slug":"new-york-times-highlights-the-problem-of-antimicrobial-resistance-and-the-tricky-issue-of-disclosure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/index.php\/new-york-times-highlights-the-problem-of-antimicrobial-resistance-and-the-tricky-issue-of-disclosure\/2019\/04\/07\/","title":{"rendered":"New York Times<\/em> Highlights the Problem of Antimicrobial Resistance — and the Tricky Issue of Disclosure"},"content":{"rendered":"

Right there, on the homepage of today’s\u00a0New York Times<\/em>, our national paper of record — Sunday edition, no less! — appears this headline<\/a>:<\/p>\n

A Mysterious Infection, Spanning the Globe in a Climate of Secrecy<\/p>\n

Most of this piece is about Candida auris<\/em>, the highly resistant fungus that targets our most vulnerable patients — those with weakened immune systems due to extremes of age, comorbid medical problems, cancer chemotherapy, or immunosuppressive drugs.<\/p>\n

The authors do an excellent job bringing attention to the seriousness of the problem. They provide some theories about its origin and cite\u00a0the many challenges each\u00a0Candida auris<\/em>\u00a0case brings to hospital workers, in particular those in charge of Infection Control.<\/p>\n

But there’s a second message in this piece, one highlighted by the difference between the online headline and the one in print.<\/p>\n

Online:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0A Mysterious Infection, Spanning the Globe in a Climate of Secrecy
\nPrint:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0Fungus Immune to Drugs Quietly Sweeps the Globe<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It’s that Climate of Secrecy<\/em> phrase, implying there’s a widespread cover-up effort.<\/p>\n

Indeed, there’s a distinct tone of blame in the article directed squarely at institutions that failed to disclose problems with Candida auris.<\/em>\u00a0One person quoted likened it to a restaurant failing to disclose that it had a food poisoning outbreak.<\/p>\n

But with the caveat that I don’t work at the institutions cited in the article, I emphatically wish to state that we ID specialists strongly welcome all publicity about the seriousness of antimicrobial resistance<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In fact, if you want two messages about which we have 100% unanimity, here they are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Vaccines work, prevent illness, save lives, and save money — the risks are vastly outweighed by their many benefits.<\/li>\n
  2. The overuse of antimicrobial agents leads to a dangerous increase in drug-resistant microorganisms, and this is a huge local, national, and global threat.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Read what Infection Control specialist Dr. Dan Diekema wrote after he saw the piece in the Times<\/em> — he was “Happy to see” that this important issue had risen to such prominence:<\/p>\n

    \n

    Happy to see that an emerging, antimicrobial-resistant, healthcare-associated pathogen has made the FRONT PAGE of the NYT! The reporters do a good job placing C. auris in larger context..@PaulSaxMD<\/a> @mike_edmond<\/a> @eliowa<\/a> 1\/9 https:\/\/t.co\/OH1ioEWJRT<\/a><\/p>\n

    — Dan Diekema (@dan_diekema) April 6, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n