BHS 323 Online

There are many choice that we make in terms of food, nutrition, product use, and consumption that influence our microbial communities.  Some of these choices are intentional, and others, unintentional. One intentionally purchases anti-microbial soap to better sanitize hands, or anti-dandruff shampoo to better maintain a healthy scalp, or intentionally consumes foods with active live cultures to improve gut function. We make these choices to intentionally improve our health and/or to take care of our bodies. On the other hand, one does not intentionally consume expired food, which negatively impacts our gut microbial balance, or use beauty products that negatively impact the “good” bacteria living on our skin. Although these choices are made with good intentions, they have the capacity to be detrimental to our body and/or health. These “bad” decision are made due to a lack of knowledge, possibly regarding the “freshness” of food or the possible effects from every ingredient in beauty products. It is our responsibility as consumers to be informed of the possible risks with everything that we consume or place on our bodies. We house many foreign bacteria that are necessary for our health; we must care for them as they care for us.

 

As a healthcare professional, a colleague asks your opinion as to which HPV strains should be covered in a new treatment. Based on your reading from the Sarid and Gao 2011 article, what would your recommendation be, and when should the treatment be administered?

Based on the Sarid and Gao 2011 article, I recommend that HPV’s 16, 18, 31, and 35 be covered for all woman in the new treatment plan and HPV’s 16 and 18 for all men. The article states that HPV 16, 18, 31, and 35 have historically been the cause of up to 80% of all cervical cancer cases in women.  A family history of HPV warrants coverage of the remaining high-risk stains for men and the “possible carcinogenic” strains for women. The Center for Disease control website states that although cervical cancer was at one point the deadliest form of cancer for women, the number of deaths has greatly decreased due to regular screenings. Vaccinations and regular screenings is one method to try to completely eradicate the disease. The cost associates with the development and approval of vaccines is great, but is an investment in the healthcare of all humans. Once the disease is under control, the public cost associated with the disease will decrease.

 

1. The article “Symbiotic gut microbes modulate human metabolic phenotypes (2007)” Li et al showed that human gut microbiomes are highly influenced by genotype, diet, age, sex, organic disease, and drugs.
2. Li et al provides evidence by sampling fecal and urinary samples of seven Chinese individuals and comparing them to American volunteers showing similar microbe species presence and absence between individuals.
3. The purpose of this paper was to show the diverse influence on the human gut microbiome in order to improve personal and public healthcare solutions.
4. Individuals interested in healthcare solutions are the intended audience including healthcare providers and researchers interested in improving healthcare to individuals and the community.

List as many human non-infectious diseases that you can think of that are influenced by microorganisms.

Cancer, Asthma, Degenerative Diseases, Anemia, Alzheimer’s, Diabetes, Allergies

This is simply a list of non-infectious diseases, not considering whether they are influenced by microorganisms. The microorganism influence will be discussed in more depth as the course continues.

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