[Submitted] Antibiotics Apocalypse

[Visionary Union]

The Issue: Recently, @@CAPITAL@@ Metro Hospital reported an alarming finding - Pai Shent Zero has died from a disease caused by a new species of bacteria that is immune to all antibiotics.

Option #1: "I told people not to overuse antibiotics, yet here we are. However, I have a solution; bacteriophages!" excitedly suggests @@RANDOMNAME@@, your chief microbiologist. "What's a bacteriophage, you ask? Well, it's quite simple, really." It was not simple. Although to summarize, bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria and kill them. "...however, we'd need to inject these viruses into our bodies. Immunity to bacteria comes at the cost of immunity to viruses. Catch-22." The other representatives start yawning.
Effect #1: @@DEMONYMPLURAL@@ keep their enemies close but their worse enemies closer

Option #2: "I can't believe you'd want to kill @@DEMONYMPLURAL@@ with deadly superviruses!" exclaims CEO of Biggs Pharmaceuticals Paul "Harma" Biggs, shaking his head condescendingly and clicking his tongue. "You should just stick to making bigger and better antibiotics! Get it, bigger? Relying on unproven scientific methods to defeat a new dangerous bacteria is madness, you should give us pharma companies more funding to develop more antibiotics! The bacteria will not be able to develop immunity to those. Probably."

OR

Option #2: "I can't believe you'd want to kill @@DEMONYMPLURAL@@ with deadly superviruses!" exclaims CEO of Biggs Pharmaceuticals Paul "Harma" Biggs, shaking his head condescendingly and clicking his tongue. "You should just stick to making bigger and better antibiotics! Get it, bigger? Relying on unproven scientific methods to defeat a new dangerous bacteria is straight gambling with @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ lives! Although if you love gambling, check out the Biggs casino in downtown @@ANIMAL@@ City."

Effect : @@NAME@@ is considered a hotbed for developing super bugs

Option #3: "Only Violet may determine who survives what!" shouts High Inquisitor Blackmane of the Violet Order, slamming her staff into the floor. "You may not, can not, will not, should not, SHALL NOT interfere with Her divine plans!" She hides a cough.
Effect: People are being reunited with Violet faster than they anticipated


Option #4: @@RANDOMNAME@@ bursts through your office door. You really need to get better security. "The whole reason we're in this mess is that people are overusing antibiotics!" @@HE@@ shouts. "Got a cold? Antibiotics. Minor aches? Antibiotics. Too tired? Antibiotics. People need to start using their natural immunity more so we stop creating these superbugs!" @@HE@@ flips off the other representatives.
Effect: Doctors have shut their doors as @@DEMONYMPLURAL@@ are averse to modern medicine

Drafted with Minskiev.

[Struvizand]

I think it would be a nice issue with the first version of the option 2

[Unified Communist Councils]

Maybe add an option where a transhumanist goes "cyborg can't get biologically sick" then have the results be along the lines of people getting sick due to computer viruses or something.

[Natanians and Nosts]

I'd remove the explanation of what bacteriophages are on the first option.It's NationStates,if the chief microbiologist says it's simple,then it might be simple (at least in his explainations).Also,AFAIK,phages aren't capable of infecting humans,but they could mess up our natural microbiota.


Maybe the fourth option could have some "esoteric"/alternative/"hollistic" tone to it?Or maybe add one like this?

[Minskiev]

I'd remove the explanation of what bacteriophages are on the first option.It's NationStates,if the chief microbiologist says it's simple,then it might be simple (at least in his explainations).Also,AFAIK,phages aren't capable of infecting humans,but they could mess up our natural microbiota.


Maybe the fourth option could have some "esoteric"/alternative/"hollistic" tone to it?Or maybe add one like this?

For your first comment, it's a joke.

[Trotterdam]

The Issue: Recently, @@CAPITAL@@ Metro Hospital reported an alarming finding - Pai Shent Zero has died from a disease caused by a new species of bacteria that is immune to all antibiotics.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are certainly a problem, but they're something we've known about for a long time. It doesn't make sense to present this as though it is the first time it happened and treat it as breaking news.

And yes, bacteriophages are an interesting solution to the problem, and from what I've read they work pretty well. I suspect the main reason they haven't seen wider adoption is because how counterintuitive it feels to inject yourself with viruses to feel better, even though bacteriophages are utterly incapable of harming humans. So despite my initial misgivings (introducing a new medical treatment seems like a job for scientists, not politicians), it does seem like this might be a political issue to some degree.

[Sacara]

Antibiotic-resistant diseases are already covered in Issue #563: Resistance Is Fertile.

However, there probably is room for a follow-up. What are the consequences of not allowing antibiotics on animals? Or perhaps, what are the side effects of "the next generation of antibiotics"?

[USS Monitor]

What are the consequences of not allowing antibiotics on animals?

I think this has potential if we need another issue about antibiotics.

And I would avoid new species of bacteria. While there are a lot of bacteria in the world, and we are still learning about them, the problem of antibiotic resistance is new strains evolved from familiar species.

[Natanians and Nosts]

I'd remove the explanation of what bacteriophages are on the first option.It's NationStates,if the chief microbiologist says it's simple,then it might be simple (at least in his explainations).Also,AFAIK,phages aren't capable of infecting humans,but they could mess up our natural microbiota.


Maybe the fourth option could have some "esoteric"/alternative/"hollistic" tone to it?Or maybe add one like this?

For your first comment, it's a joke.

Pardon?

[USS Monitor]

And yes, bacteriophages are an interesting solution to the problem, and from what I've read they work pretty well. I suspect the main reason they haven't seen wider adoption is because how counterintuitive it feels to inject yourself with viruses to feel better, even though bacteriophages are utterly incapable of harming humans. So despite my initial misgivings (introducing a new medical treatment seems like a job for scientists, not politicians), it does seem like this might be a political issue to some degree.

Viruses can also cure cancer. They are quite fascinating and underappreciated.

[Visionary Union]

Antibiotic-resistant diseases are already covered in Issue #563: Resistance Is Fertile.

However, there probably is room for a follow-up. What are the consequences of not allowing antibiotics on animals? Or perhaps, what are the side effects of "the next generation of antibiotics"?

Yes, I've read the issue. #563 focuses on antibiotics usage in the meat industry, and does not focus on the human aspect.

The Issue: Recently, @@CAPITAL@@ Metro Hospital reported an alarming finding - Pai Shent Zero has died from a disease caused by a new species of bacteria that is immune to all antibiotics.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are certainly a problem, but they're something we've known about for a long time. It doesn't make sense to present this as though it is the first time it happened and treat it as breaking news.

And yes, bacteriophages are an interesting solution to the problem, and from what I've read they work pretty well. I suspect the main reason they haven't seen wider adoption is because how counterintuitive it feels to inject yourself with viruses to feel better, even though bacteriophages are utterly incapable of harming humans. So despite my initial misgivings (introducing a new medical treatment seems like a job for scientists, not politicians), it does seem like this might be a political issue to some degree.

Antibiotics resistant bacteria are a big issue. in 2015, China reported that they had a patient infected with such a bacteria, and they had to use experimental phages in order to save him, as even last ditch antibiotics such as Colistin failed to destroy the bacteria.

And yes, it does sound a bit off putting to inject yourself with foreign bodies to defeat bacteria, but it is very likely that this might become common as more and more antibioitics resistant bacteria emerge.

[Australian rePublic]

Option 1 is the defintion of a vaccine. Unless you're talking about a pox party type arrangement.

Also, no matter what @@NAME@@ does, you still have the problem of anti-biotic misuse in other countries

[Trotterdam]

Viruses can also cure cancer. They are quite fascinating and underappreciated.

Huh, I hadn't heard about that one. How does that work?

Antibiotics resistant bacteria are a big issue.

Please point out where I said it's not.

Option 1 is the defintion of a vaccine. Unless you're talking about a pox party type arrangement.

Umm, no. This has absolutely nothing to do with vaccines.

[Australian rePublic]

Viruses can also cure cancer. They are quite fascinating and underappreciated.

Huh, I hadn't heard about that one. How does that work?

Antibiotics resistant bacteria are a big issue.

Please point out where I said it's not.

Option 1 is the defintion of a vaccine. Unless you're talking about a pox party type arrangement.

Umm, no. This has absolutely nothing to do with vaccines.

Oh, I see. Carry on

[USS Monitor]

Viruses can also cure cancer. They are quite fascinating and underappreciated.

Huh, I hadn't heard about that one. How does that work?

Two possible ways.

1. The mutation that caused the cancer cells to grow out of control also makes them more vulnerable to the virus.

2. The virus triggers your immune system, and then once the immune system is mobilized, it also realizes something is wrong with the cancer cells and starts killing them.

I think they are still working out how to use this in a controlled way, but it is a promising area of research and there are documented cases of cancer patients having a viral infection, and when they recovered from the virus their cancer was gone.

[Minskiev]

Bump

[Visionary Union]

bump for additional feedback

[Biwolfia]

Maybe add something where some sort of stoned person comes in and says to just let it spread, and let that give the immunity. The result could be like the nation's people now get sick and praise the disease for giving them natural immunity.

[Visionary Union]

Maybe add something where some sort of stoned person comes in and says to just let it spread, and let that give the immunity. The result could be like the nation's people now get sick and praise the disease for giving them natural immunity.

It would be too similar to option 4, though.

[Visionary Union]

Last call before submitting

[Tinhampton]

Why is this on last call if you don't even know which of your Option 2s you're going to use in your submitted version yet?

[Visionary Union]

Why is this on last call if you don't even know which of your Option 2s you're going to use in your submitted version yet?

Most likely the first option will be used as no one commented on the second one.

[Candensia]

CEO of Biggs Pharmaceuticals Paul "Harma" Biggs

It's up to you, but as double quotes are used to signal for speech I'd replace them here with 'single' quotes, to avoid confusion.

[Minskiev]

CEO of Biggs Pharmaceuticals Paul "Harma" Biggs

It's up to you, but as double quotes are used to signal for speech I'd replace them here with 'single' quotes, to avoid confusion.

Oh, fair. I believe it's been submitted already but I don't think this would negatively affect our draft too much

Edit: i must've misclicked i guess? i dunno