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I situate my research at the crossroads of history, philosophy, sociology and anthropology of science. In the past, I have focused on epigenetics, environmental research, empirical bioethics and environmental justice, within and outside the academia, as you can read here, or here. Now I am focusing on antibiotic resistance, and I use it as a lens to interpret the contradictions of the last century derived by industrial production, environmental degradation and biomedical cultures.

What interests me is the (at that time) new epistemic discourse that since the Forties has been produced to explain morphological changes of organisms produce when they experience new environmental conditions or perturbations. Through an important experiment at the base of the so-called concept of genetic assimilation, Conrad H. Waddington showed that a thermic shock can produce changes in wings’ veins of fruit flies, changes that can eventually be inherited across generations, without the environmental trigger that caused them.

This focus on production and (genetic) storage of biological differences elicited by the environment is nowadays coupled with the knowledge produced through microbiome research that explains the phenotypic patterns that recur across generations.

In a thought-provoking twist, with microbiome research, the focus shifts from production and inheritance of biological differences to production and inheritance of biological similarities. Microbiome research shows that some phenotypic patterns are allowed by ecological communities of microorganisms composing all animals. Bacteria allow the development and functioning of our bodies within an epistemic framework that is now key to understand biology. The network of vessels composing mammals’ stomach is formed through cellular differentiation and expression of genes coordinated by bacteria. The same is true for our immune system that is coordinated by gut bacteria. Food, which is an important aspect of our lives also impacts on this microecology and mediates between our biological functions and functioning of means of production whose parts dedicated to food production have immense importance for our biology and our internal and external ecologies. Antibiotic resistance is one of the crossroads where culture, biology, history and the Anthropocene meet. Indeed, Antibiotic resistance shows that means of production of our societies have an even more widespread, deep and allegedly unexpected impact on the biology of animals and plants. The microorganism can indeed adapt to resist the selective toxicity of antibiotics. Moreover, bacteria can transfer their genetic code horizontally, by touch, so that we can acquire antibiotic resistance by eating food that functions as a vector, by hosting lice on our heads and many other contacts. Bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics that have been used as growth factors in animal husbandry and to prevent diseases in livestock and aquaculture, spread in natural ecosystems and can be found in wild species. Rivers and estuarine waters are places hosting antibiotic resistance.

Searching on PubMed (the search engine for biomedical literature) titles of articles containing the terms ‘antimicrobial’ and ‘Louisiana’ I retrieved just one twelve-years-old article. No results with terms such as 'Mississippi' or 'New Orleans'. The authors collected and analysed Oysters from both waters of Louisiana Gulf and in restaurants and food retailers in Baton Rouge. In most of the samples gathered, scientists recognised the presence of bacteria (Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus) resistant to specific antimicrobials. Food production is indeed the first factor in terms of the quantity of antibiotics used. This use and related antibiotic resistance impact all the living beings present in a specific area, and can easily travel around the globe through many channels. As Littman & Viens have highlighted, a sustainable future is a future without antibiotics as “there may be no truly sustainable way of using antibiotics in the long-run, as microorganisms have shown to be almost infinitely adaptable since the first introduction of antibiotics” (Littman & Viens 2015). But in the meanwhile, we need to use them and antibiotic resistance is a phenomenon that can be better studied through environmental research, by analysing wild species and emissions nearby livestock, for instance.

The study that I retrieved focuses on Oysters. But what about antibiotic resistance conveyed through food that is consumed by the most?

What about exposures of communities that are living in highly polluted areas?

And what is the additive value on antibiotic resistance for individuals who experience the presence of industrial pollutants and that live in areas where cancer epidemics are registered?

In this respect, there is a strategy to cope with the issue of antibiotic resistance promoted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The document doesn’t mention any action to monitor and regulate the production and usage of antibiotics in livestock. Nevertheless, the CDC wants to scrutinise, through genome sequencing, “Listeria, Salmonella, Campylobacter, and E. coli and uploads sequence data into PulseNet for nationwide monitoring of outbreaks and trends.” Moreover, the document reports that “In Fiscal Year 2019, Louisiana will begin simultaneously monitoring these isolates for resistance genes. When outbreaks are detected, local CDC-supported epidemiologists investigate the cases to stop spread.”

The questions that I would like to ask (to local ppl, activists, researchers, practitioners..) are:

What could be the epidemiologic characteristics (socioeconomic status, gender, residence..) of the populations more vulnerable to antibiotic resistance?

What is the additive role of antibiotic resistance for people living in highly polluted areas?

What is the impact of antibiotic resistance for people and patients living in areas where cancer incidence is high?

And on the long run I am interested in imagining possible strategies to not only living with the problem but also to tackle the problem itself, which means to develop strategies to answer the questions:

Why antibiotic resistance, which is known since a century, it’s a problem on the rise?

What is the role and interest of capitalism, in terms of profit-making of corporations, knowledge production and environmental degradation, in not being able to resolve antibiotic resistance?

What can be strategies of local communities to tackle the problem and to promote environmental justice in terms of alliances with ecologists, doctors, epidemiologists and other activists?

Emergency response is addressed in a variety of different ways in this article. Effectiveness of global response and policy is addressed in modularity. Long-term response vs disaster responses are considered. Effectiveness of global policy is reviewed, such as cases of culling animals and controlling disease in different countries.

1)      How is Ebola best contained? From a report studying how Ebola was handled in Nigeria, there were several practices that were credited with its relatively quick eradication.  "The dense population and overburdened infrastructure create an environment where diseases can be easily transmitted and transmission sustained" (cdc.gov). In Nigeria, all 900 or so people who came in contact with the original patient zero were identified and monitored in isolation. The Nigerian CDC made over 18 thousand visits to screen suspected patients who would be moved to isolated treatment centers if highly suspect. Nigeria also holds a virology laboratory in Lagos University Teaching Hospital which allowed for quick and accurate testing. (http://www.livescience.com/48359-nigeria-how-ebola-was-contained.html)

2)      I also investigated the shooting of the boy who died, and why they shot him and what the circumstances were. I found that the boy, Shakie Kamara, was with a group of people trying to leave the neighborhood— against the government directive quarantine. The soldiers who fired on him and two other men were trying to prevent them from leaving. (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/22/world/africa/liberian-boy-dies-after-being-shot-during-clash-over-ebola-quarantine.html)

3)      The last point I investigated further was why it took international aid so long to arrive in West Africa (almost six months). The main reason for the long delay was due to logistics. Sites need to be located to store supplies and medical equipment which has to be transported to their sites in West Africa via underdeveloped roads. Just the transportation alone, mind sake organizing the manpower to run it, is an enormous task. Trying to find trucks, helicopters, and ambulances to move gear and get them in place takes time on the logistics end. "I need everything. I need it everywhere. And I need it super-fast." (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29654974)

1) “Hailey-Means’ mental and physical health quickly deteriorated. Her treatment by guards and the intolerable conditions in solitary… led Candie to try to take her own life.”

2) “What they’re calling for instead is a divestment from mass incarceration, along with an end to bail, and an investment in health care, living wage jobs, and mental health treatment that would lead to safer communities.”

The Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy emerged from the breakdown in leadership during the 2004 Katrina super storm disaster.

Cloud9 was built to help better give care to those suffering from mental health issues. Cloud9pych.com allows for online mental health screening, live video chat with mental health professionals, and track daily changes in mental health status. Cloud9 is a tool for both those in the medical industry as well as those affected by mental health issues. The idea is that this online/app tool will allow for better, faster, and less expensive mental health care.

1) Past—the past is used as a guide to the future. Past research is used in the article such as from the Vietnam War.

2) Present—PTSD and MMD are explored in detail in areas that have been effected by it.

3) Future-- post-disaster plans and planning to better administer Psychological First Aid (PFA).