Drug Resistant Diseases: The gift of ignorance.

Not all gift we get are good things. 

This morning I heard the evolution of a drug resistant strain of malaria described as a gift from drug counterfeiters in South East Asia. These crooks create fake drugs that use a small amount of the real medicine to allow them to pass certain tests. When people use the weakened drug their malaria strain soon builds up resistance to that drug. In Cambodia today, a resistant strain of malaria is the newest gift from the underworld to our culture.

I say the gift of ignorance not just because people using the fakes are ignorant of their culpability in this but also because so many people misunderstand the various modes and methods of medicine that their confusion can lead to drug resistance as well. Learning the facts can really help you stay healthy.