第150回 WORKSHOP報告(5月13日) / 参加者66名

1.マテリアルの紹介Iさん

2.会場の様子

《 今回のworkshop 》

○workshop参加人数:66名(うち新人の方:9名)

○【前半】:The comparison between Japan and foreign country

○【後半】:Drug-Resistant Germs and Microbiome
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みなさまこんにちは、E’s club幹事のKです。
5月13日(土)開催の第150回workshopの詳細をお送りいたします。

[今週のマテリアル]
≪FIRST HALF≫
<Agenda>
The comparison between Japan and foreign country

I read the article written by Vietnamese who had visited Japan.
He said ”Japan is a very convenient country and developed very well. But on the other hand Japanese people seem not to enjoy their life. They also looked exhausted with their job and life.
Compared to Japan, our village hasn’t developed so much, but we enjoy our life. I think the wealth and development don’t lead the happiness to us.” I want to discuss this article with everyone.

Q1
What are the good point and bad point in Japanese society?

Q2
What are the good point and bad point in a foreign country compared to Japan? If you have some experience in a foreign country, please share your experience with other members.

Q3
Are you satisfied with the current life including work and private time? Yes or No? Why or why not?

Q4
Do you want to live in a foreign country in the future? Yes or No? Which country? If you say Yes, what do you want to do in a foreign country?

Q5
What is the most important thing in your life to be happy? ( Money, friends, etc.)

≪LATTER HALF≫
Dear E’s members,

I am glad to be given a chance to provide you the agenda for 13th May later half discussion.

I have chosen 2 topics that are related to our Health today.
They are, “Drug-Resistant Germs, (薬剤耐性菌)” and “Microbiome (腸内細菌叢)”.

<< Why I chose Health topics? >>
As some of you may already know, I am now studying Acupuncture & Moxibustion, a profession that helps people to promote their Health.

Among many medical issues I study in school, I found the Drug Resistant Germs problem most threatening.
At the same time, I thought that good cultivation of Microbiome can help us maintain good health condition and protect us from deadly infectious diseases.

I guess that some of you already have heard about these topics (others might have not.)
Videos I have found on YouTube may help you to catch the basic ideas of these agendas.
I recommend you to first watch the videos then read the texts and questions below.

Here are the links to the videos.

” The Antibiotic Apocalypse Explained ” (5:57) ~Japanese and English subtitle available

” What is the human microbiome? ” (4:29) ~only English subtitle available

<< About the Reading Material >>
Reading material below is the extracts from an English magazine.

“Superbugs, The rise of Drug-Resistant Germs” ~ROSEN PUBLISHING, 2010
https://rosenpublishing.com/product/superbugs

The magazine is edited for elementary school children (age 7-12+) in U.S.
This character of the paper is making the texts simple and easy to understand.
I thought this would be good material for our reading training, not too easy, and not too difficult.

If you do not have enough time to read through the texts, you can just watch the videos introduced above.
Key information in the texts are almost included in the videos.
Just watching through them should prepare you well to join the discussion on 13th.

<< Reading Material >>

Chapters:
What are the superbugs?
Bacteria: Tiny Residents
The Problem of Drug Resistance
How Do Bugs become Superbugs?
The Growing Problem of Antibiotic Resistance
What You Can Do to Prevent Superbugs

What are the superbugs?
Imagine an army of mutant invaders, billions strong. The members of this army are so tiny that they cannot be seen without a microscope. Their small size allows them to slip inside the human body unnoticed. Once inside, they can cause sickness – even death. Nothing can combat these deadly invaders. They are unstoppable.
This scenario sounds like something out of a horror movie: “Attack of the superbugs!” Although this description is overly dramatic, superbugs are real. Over the past few decades bacteria have emerged that are resistant to all but the most powerful antibiotics.
These bacteria can spread quickly through hospitals and communities. They make thousands of people sick each year. People whose immune systems aren’t strong enough to fight off the bacteria can even die. Health experts fear that some day, strains of bacteria will arise that no medicine can kill.

Bacteria: Tiny Residents
Bacteria aren’t really evil monsters. They are merely single-celled organisms that are trying to survive in the often-hostile environment of the human body.
It’s true that bacteria can cause illnesses, such as pneumonia and strep throat. Yet many types of bacteria actually help humans become healthier. Many bacteria live in harmony within the body, serving useful purposes like keeping the digestive tract functioning properly.
For example, have you ever eaten a cup of yogurt with a label that read “Live Active Cultures”? Yogurt contains probiotics, which are bacteria that help make you healthier when you eat them. Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are the most common types of probiotics in yogurt. They take up residence in the digestive tract and help push out any harmful, disease-causing bacteria. Researchers have found that these good bacteria can help protect you from many intestinal woes including diarrhea, gas, and constipation. People couldn’t live without them. Other bacteria are used to produce antibiotics, which treat disease. In the environment, bacteria help break down garbage and other waste.
It is important to mention that bacteria are not the same as viruses- the tiny microorganisms that cause the common cold and the flu. First of all, viruses are about ten to hundred times smaller than bacteria. They cannot reproduce on their own like bacteria can. Illnesses caused by viruses cannot be treated with antibiotics. That is why when you have a cold, your doctor will prescribe lots of rest fluids, but not antibiotics. In the past, doctors often mistakenly prescribed antibiotics for infections caused by viruses. That misuse of antibiotics is one of the reasons why some bacteria have become resistant to those drugs.

The Problem of Drug Resistance
Almost a century ago, scientist discovered a way to fight the bacteria that cause disease. The drugs that killed these germs were called antibiotics, and they worked pretty well. Bacteria are resourceful, though. They do whatever it takes to survive.
Over time, some types of bacteria changed. They developed ways to reduce the effects of antibiotics. Some bacteria became more resistant to antibiotics than others.
When doctors try to treat infections with an antibiotic to which the bacteria are resistant, that medicine won’t work. The patient will either stay sick for long time or get even sicker. Very young children, elderly people, and those with a weakened immune system-for example, those who have the disease acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-are particularly vulnerable. They are more likely to die from drug-resistant bacteria.

How Do Bugs become Superbugs?
When antibiotics were introduced in the early twentieth century, doctors were thrilled to finally have medicine that could combat bacterial infection. They were so excited, in fact, that many of them began to prescribe antibiotics to treat just about anything, including colds and the flu, which are caused by viruses.
When people take antibiotics for colds and other viral illnesses, the drugs won’t kill the viruses. Instead, the antibiotics will kill some of the “good” bacteria in the body, leaving more room for harmful bacteria to move in and multiply.
Even when people take antibiotics for pneumonia, strep throat, or other bacterial infection, the bacteria can become resistant if the drugs aren’t used properly. For example, if your doctor prescribes a 10 day course of amoxicllin and you take only five days’ worth because you are starting to feel better, some of the bacteria in your body may still be alive. After having been exposed to amoxicillin, those bacteria can become resistant to the drug.

The Growing Problem of Antibiotic Resistance
As doctors overprescribed antibiotics and patients often neglected to take their entire dose, the problem of resistance grew. During world WarⅡ, penicillin was used for everything from treating pneumonia to preventing infections on the battlefield. Bacteria quickly became resistant to it. Researchers eventually developed partly synthetic forms of penicillin, such as methicilline. However, bacteria also became resistant to these drugs within just a few years.
Bacteria weren’t just becoming resistant because of antibiotic use in medicine. Low doses of antibiotics were being put to other uses. They were added to cleaning products. They were fed to livestock to protect them from getting sick and help them grow faster. The more exposure bacteria had to antibiotics, the more their resistance grew.

What You Can Do to Prevent Superbugs
Fighting superbugs starts with you. Stay healthy, practice good hygiene, and encourage your friends and family to do the same.
Keep clean. Good hygiene is essential for preventing superbugs. Wash your hands throughout the day with warm water and soap. Also wash any cuts or scrapes with soap and water, and take them covered with a clean bandage. Always wash your hands after handling raw meat, poultry, and fish. Row foods can transmit E. coli and other types of bacteria, such as Salmonella and Listeria.
Limit antibiotics. Don’t rush to your doctor asking for antibiotics every time you have a cough or sore throat. The overuse of antibiotics has played a big part in the development of superbugs. Often, illnesses are caused by viruses, which aren’t treatable with antibiotics. If you are worried that your doctor is prescribing antibiotics too often or for the wrong kinds of illnesses, ask him or her to take a culture to find out for sure if you actually have a bacterial infection. When you do have to take antibiotics, make sure to take the entire prescription. Stopping your medicine early can cause bacteria that are already in your body to become resistant.
Get more” friendly” bacteria into your system. Eat yogurt labeled with the words “Live Active Cultures.” These probiotics will put more “good ” bacteria into your body, crowding out the harmful bacteria.
Finally, be careful-but don’t be paranoid. You don’t need to live in fear that the superbugs are “coming to get you.” Know that there is very little chance of you or anyone you know getting sick with one of these infections. If you pay attention to good hygiene, your risk will be even slimmer.

<< Questions >>

1. Have you ever heard of “Drug-Resistant Germs, (薬剤耐性菌)” and “Microbiome (腸内細菌叢)”?
What types of impression do you have on these topics?

2. Have you ever thought about the merit and demerit of antibiotics?

3. If you have ever suffered from a severe infectious disease, please share that experience with your group members.
What was that disease? Did antibiotics work in that situation?

4. If the government decided to put stricter rules on the use of antibiotics on food animals, would you support it?
While it may help to slow down the spread of drug-resistant bacteria, it will possibly raise meat/fish price sharply.

5. When you caught a cold, did you visit a doctor to get medicines? Did he or she prescribe you antibiotics?
In the case that you got antibiotics, did you finish taking all of the pills as instructed? Haven’t you ever stopped taking them halfway because you started to feel better?
If you did not visit a doctor, what did you do to cure your diseases instead? Did you intentionally avoid taking antibiotics knowing their health risks?

6. Do you do anything regularly to improve your health/immune system, such as doing exercise or taking probiotics (ex. yogurt, natto, kimchi)?
Taking lots of fiber-rich foods (ex. vegetables, whole grain foods) is said to be good for strengthening your microbiome. Do you think you are taking enough of them?

7. How much are you confident with your health?
Why are you confident, or not confident?

<< Further References >>

Texts
WHO, fact sheet on Antimicrobial Resistance
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs194/en/

Dangerous New Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Reach U.S.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/dangerous-new-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria-reach-u-s/

American Microbiome Institute, Introduction to the Human Microbiome
http://www.microbiomeinstitute.org/humanmicrobiome/

Videos
抗生物質に対する耐性が生まれるのはなぜか? – ケビン・ウー (4:34, Japanese and English subtitle available)

微生物から成る人体 – ジェシカ・グリーン &カレン・ギリマン (3:45, Japanese and English subtitle available)

” Enterome: the gut microbiome and its impact on our health ” (3:51, only English subtitle available)

Book
あなたの体は9割が細菌: 微生物の生態系が崩れはじめた (原書: 10% Human: How Your Body’s Microbes Hold the Key to Health and Happiness)
アランナ コリン (著), Alanna Collen (原著), 矢野 真千子 (翻訳)

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