Influenza virus strains show increasing drug resistance and ability to spread

http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2010/12/08/influenza_virus_strains_show_increasing_drug_resistance_and_ability_to_spread.html

Summary – This article is about how there have been some studies that showed that some types of influenza are becoming resistant to antibiotics. Some viruses are even becoming resistant to two different antibiotics, which although rare, is on the rise and is causing some to worry about the effectiveness of the antibiotics in the future. They think that new strategies for treatment of the viruses will need to be created in the future because treatment will be limited if the dual resistant virus spreads. In some rare cases in a study, people on oseltamivir therapy have had traces of OR H1N1, which is resistant to oseltamivir but hadn’t been in the past. Scientists say that we will just have to keep a close eye on the changes these viruses show and be creative in the treatments in the future.

Opinion – I think this is actually kind of scary, and it makes me afraid to get sick because I might not be able to recover! Why can’t all those stupid viruses just die instead of becoming resistant to all the medications? I also think this relates a lot to what we are currently learning about in class, with the natural selection and adaptation thing. I also hope that some new medication will be found soon so that the viruses will not be able to adapt and all the scary diseases will be gone for good. Also, I remember that there was some kind of disease that used to be so widespread, but now it is nonexistent except in some place where the government is keeping it just in case the disease breaks out again. If it was possible for that disease to die out, it should be possible for others!