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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?

This research article was authored by Dr. Vincanne Adams, Dr. Diana English, and Taslim Van Hattum who are professors and researchers at the University of California at San Francisco's Department of Anthropology, History, and Social Medicine. All three authors have been extensively involved in research in their respective fields and have authored numerous publications. 

The goal of this organization is to secure a more peaceful and safe world free from the threat of nuclear war and destruction. 

The author explores the definitions of humanitarianism and analyzes historical documents and data obtained from humanitarian aid organizations. The author compares this information with anecdotal evidence in the form of public opinion to map the development of this issue.

The NYS Ebola Preparedness Plan was criticized by the public and other agencies, primarily for its strict quarantine protocols, which have been called "overzealous" by some. In addition, the policy was criticized for its inconsistency with Federal and international guidelines which may have created confusion for the public.

Dr. Emily Goldmann, PhD, MPH, is an Assistant Research Professor of Global Public Health at New York University's College of Global Public Health. She received her Master's and Doctorate's degrees in epidemiology from the University of Michigan. She has worked as an epidemiologist at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in the Bureau of Adult Mental Health, where she conducted surveillance of psychological distress, serious mental illness, and psychiatric hospitalization among New Yorkers and assisted in designing and implementing a study of patients for psychiatric illness following Hurricane Sandy.

Dr. Sandro Galea, MD, MPH, DrPH, is a physician and epidemiologist. He is also the Robert A. Knox Professor and Dean at the Boston University School of Public Health. He has also previously held academic and leadership positions at the University of Michigan and at the New York Academy of Medicine. He has been involved in numerous research efforts and publications. His research focuses on the social production of health in urban populations, with a focus on brain disorders, mood-anxiety disorders, and substance abuse. He also maintains a strong interest in the consequences of mass trauma and conflict worldwide, including as a result of the 9/11 attacks, Hurricane Katrina, and the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Emergency response, specifically the recovery response in the aftermath of a disaster such as Hurricane Katrina, is the principal focus of this report.

The author argues that a patient's narrative regarding his or her medical history can vary significantly and be affected by his or her culture. Cultural norms can determine how a patient presents or describes signs and symptoms or can determine the extent to which a patient is willing to share information with medical professionals.

• "Despite the urgency and impact of violence affecting health service delivery, there is an overall lack of research that is of health-specific, publically accessible and comparable, as well as a lack of gender-disaggregated data and data on perpetrator motives."
• "Although violence directly affecting health service delivery in complex security environments has received a great deal of media attention, there is very little publically available research, particularly peer-reviewed, original research."
• "Key challenges in addressing violence affecting health service delivery in complex security environments include a lack of health-specific, accessible and comparable, gender-disaggregated data and sufficient data on perpetrator motives."