Why don't any of you who live near Atlanta and the CDC find out who the microbiologist in charge of c-diff is, start dating their son or daughter, leave the country to get married, have a c-diff episode, sneak back into the country, end up on Good Morning America... THEN, maybe, just maybe, someone would pay attention to OUR bacteria.
I mean this as humorously sarcastic as possible, and I hope Mr. Speaker is able to recover from his TB--if they can save him from the TB bacteria, maybe there is hope of finding a cure for other bacteria like ours. I live in Texas, and I heard on the news that 4 more kids at a high school in the Dallas area tested positive for TB. I just think the CDC needs to look into why there are so many bacterial illnesses popping up across the country.
I know I'm being a bit sarcastic
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hilldk,
Actually, we do know the epidemiologist in charge of tracking C. diff. His name is L. Clifford McDonald, M.D. He is now also Acting Chief,
Prevention and Response Branch (Proposed), Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Dr. McDonald has been very helpful to us. His article on C. diff. is posted on the site & he usually answers my Emails. Unfortunately, there are so many diseases "out there" now, MRSA seems to be "front & center," & his staff & funding are limited.
We all share your frustration, & many of us have tried to get PR for C. diff. for years. I've known about it since l979 when my younger son first had it. Back then very few (including docs.) knew what it was. Things have improved, but we still have a long way to go.
I think one of the problems is the ugliness of the disease. Who wants to write about diarrhea? This is one of the reasons we try to keep the "grosser" aspects of the infection confined to TMI -- with little luck with some posters.
We need more PR. But how? You are right. If someone famous develops C. diff., it will finally get real attention. But who & when?
Actually, we do know the epidemiologist in charge of tracking C. diff. His name is L. Clifford McDonald, M.D. He is now also Acting Chief,
Prevention and Response Branch (Proposed), Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Dr. McDonald has been very helpful to us. His article on C. diff. is posted on the site & he usually answers my Emails. Unfortunately, there are so many diseases "out there" now, MRSA seems to be "front & center," & his staff & funding are limited.
We all share your frustration, & many of us have tried to get PR for C. diff. for years. I've known about it since l979 when my younger son first had it. Back then very few (including docs.) knew what it was. Things have improved, but we still have a long way to go.
I think one of the problems is the ugliness of the disease. Who wants to write about diarrhea? This is one of the reasons we try to keep the "grosser" aspects of the infection confined to TMI -- with little luck with some posters.
We need more PR. But how? You are right. If someone famous develops C. diff., it will finally get real attention. But who & when?
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