Mehkurydiaries

On September 28, 1928, Alexander Fleming noticed that mould had cleared bacteria from part of a culture plate. Humanity had found penicillin. Other scientists later turned that observation into medicine. We then behaved as though the miracle came with unlimited refills. Antibiotics changed the meaning of an infected wound. They made surgery safer, protected vulnerable patients and rescued ordinary people from bacteria that once turned small injuries into funerals. Then convenience began eating the gift. We take antibiotics for illnesses they cannot treat. We change doses or stop treatment without medical advice. In places where diagnosis is scarce, guessing often arrives before testing. Hospitals, farms, pharmacies, prescribers, manufacturers and patients all add pressure to the same invisible classroom. The pupils are bacteria. Resistance is not bacteria becoming wicked. It is evolution doing its work. An antibiotic kills susceptible bacteria. The survivors carry useful defences, re...

Poverty is usually presented as a percentage. Noma makes it impossible to look away. The disease begins inside a child’s mouth, often as inflammation of the gums. In malnourished children—especially where clean water, nutrition, hygiene and early care are scarce—it can move quickly through facial tissue and bone. It is bacteria exploiting a society’s neglect. The World Health Organization recognised noma as a neglected tropical disease in December 2023. Early detection can mean antibiotics, oral-hygiene support, nutritional supplements and healing without long-term consequences. Late detection can mean reconstructive surgery, difficulty eating and speaking, stigma—or death. The disease is cruel. Its timetable is crueller. This week, the Associated Press reported from Sokoto that Médecins Sans Frontières is providing free, multi-stage operations. More than 500 children were treated there between 2023 and 2025. One eight-year-old boy has undergone six operations since 2021. This ...