Dr Adam Roberts of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine has pioneered Swab and Send, which in effect allows "citizen scientists" to participate in swabbing and identifying potential sources of antibiotics in the most unlikeliest of places, in their homes and elsewhere. Someone for instance, swabbed the Dalek in the foyer of Broadcasting House, that lab testing showed had at least three different types of bacteria able to exterminate the lab's Micrococcus indicator strain.
"The identification of new antibiotics is of vital importance as the rise of infections caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria continues. Most of the antibiotics we use today come from bacteria and fungi that inhabit the soil. The next antibiotic might come from the back of your cupboard, your bin or the change in your pocket. When you pledge (£30 = 5 swabs) you will be joining the hunt for the next antibiotic. We will send you swabs for you to swab an area you think might be home to some interesting microbes. Return the swabs to us and we will determine if there are any bacteria present and if they are making any antibiotics.
If you want to take part please contact Dr Adam Roberts Adam.Roberts@lstmed.ac.uk or simply pledge through our online form (bit.ly/2eXM1Zw) or send a cheque for the required amount of swabs (payable to Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine) together with your address to Adam (address below) and help us search for the world's next antibiotic!"
There is a Swab and Send FB group with regular interesting updates for anyone interested in looking further into what's happening in the project.
Written by
MaisieGray
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I watched the programme with Angela Rippon back in February on Antibiotics. She was swabbed and found to have some good fighting Antibiotic strains just on her hands. In the far east they use something else instead of antibiotics and it's totally natural. Thank you for the post very interesting and very important indeed.
I think that programme said they had developed phage viruses to treat antibiotic resistant bacteria in Russia, but may have misheard. There was a woman using this to treat long term bacterial infections, as I remember. My friend had to make a model of one when he studied microbiology, they look scary, though I have a fluffy version for his birthday that looks like this: giantmicrobes.com/uk/produc... I bought a wee MRSA bacteria too, but I'm loathe to part with it.
This is really interesting. My family have often joked that I should donate my cells to medical science because I’ve never had flu and I can probably count on one hand the amount of time I’ve had a slight cold. Even when I say I feel under the weather I’m literally better within 24hrs. I just don’t seem to get the usual virus’
And now from his forum I see that lots of posters are often more susceptible to virus’/bacteria.
I can’t remember ever having antibiotics and I know my children have only had them once maybe twice in their lifetimes.
My best friend had never had flu, or suffered more than a sniffle until she had RAI for Graves. I had every cough, cold, sore throat, noro virus, doing the rounds which was hell as I came into contact with hundreds of people in a working week. Now her immune system is as bad as mine was before I too THs. I still pick up lurgies, but with less severity & for a shorter time as long as I keep my body temperature above 36 degrees C.
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Shall we try and get our money back from Greece?
T3 Liothyronine in Spain
