The Food Phoenix Blog

Photo by  Drew Hays  on  Unsplash By Dr Catriona Walsh A new superbug has come to town A new antimicrobial resistant superbug has suddenly appeared in multiple countries simultaneously over the past 15 years. The first report of the fungus,  Candida auris , being isolated from a person’s ear was published in 2009 . Now it is responsible for infectious outbreaks that can close intensive care wards. There is currently no known cure for many patients who are infected with it, due to its virulence, persistence and resistance to multiple antifungals. Conventional antifungals often don’t even tickle it. Many people carry it. People who are immunosuppressed and ill may have an almost 50% risk of dying when this particular organism is cultured from them. It is colonizing elderly care homes and neonatal units as well as hospitals. It is also in our communities. It makes MRSA look like child’s play, and it is on the rise. Why has this new microbe only suddenly appeared in the last 10 y

By Dr Catriona Wals h Photo by  Ken Treloar  on  Unsplash (I couldn't find a free picture of an MRI scanner, so here's a Ct scanner instead) Wednesday 9th November 2016: That was the day my life changed. That was the day I had my first, and only gadolinium-enhanced MRI scan. I will never have another one. That was the day I realised that the conventional medical system is desperately flawed, and that unless I research every single investigation and treatment offered to me, I won't understand all of the implications of that treatment, because informed consent is just an illusion. Doctors seldom have the knowledge to advise patients about the true risks and benefits of the treatments, surgeries, and investigations they are offering. They don't have the time to search the literature, and even if they do have the time, seldom do they have the skills to critically appraise those studies, nor do they have access to unpublished trial results which are often where the ma