Nitric acid and tobacco smoke vaccine kills tuberculosis virus

Inaccuracy and inattention of journalists to facts is a fairly common thing. Moreover, the vast majority of "crap" occurs only because of the unwillingness to check the data once again or find the original source. This is especially true of the news. Especially foreign ones.

The past week turned out to be very fruitful for medical blunders among the media at a fairly high level. Izvestia, which published the article "Tobacco smoke kills tuberculosis bacillus," was the loudest disgrace of all. The very first paragraph showed that it would be better not to start writing this article:

"Tobacco smoke kills tuberculosis bacillusThe toxic gas contained in exhaust gases and tobacco smoke prevents the spread of the tuberculosis virus.
This discovery was made by scientists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA (University of Alabama at Birmingham)."Indeed, a girl is a boy, I'm sorry, a virus is a bacterium, what difference does it actually make?..

And the difference is big. In fact, the causative agent of tuberculosis is Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis), aka Koch's wand, aka tuberculosis bacillus.

Meet me: who will say that this is a five–micron monster – a girl, ugh, a virus - let him be the first to throw a stone at me. It's a bacterium! A bacterium!! Yes, and with amazing stability in the external environment. Otherwise, why else would there be so many problems with her?

However, we continue to study the note in Izvestia and find out a stunningly interesting thing:

"In a material published in The Journal of Biological Chemistry, it is said that carbon monoxide is able to turn the tuberculosis bacillus – the main causative agent of the tuberculosis virus – from a dangerous infection into a passive bacterium that is easily amenable to drugs."Read: "carbon monoxide is able to turn the tuberculosis bacillus – the main causative agent of the tuberculosis virus – from a dangerous infection into a passive bacterium."

I didn't understand who aroused whom? A stoned bacillus excites the virus and it becomes a passive bacterium… What kind of microbiological porn is this with a change of roles and gender?

Now to the question of the study of primary sources: the article itself, which Izvestia is so clumsily trying to retell, was published in the online version of The Journal of Biological Chemistry (abstract, full text in PDF format, both in English). Science Daily has an adapted press release on this. So, in all sources there is not a word that carbon monoxide defeats Mycobacterium. And the fact that a passive bacterium is easily treatable – too. We are talking about something completely different: carbon monoxide contributes to the emergence of latent tuberculosis – the most dangerous form of the disease in the epidemiological sense. This infection carries almost a third of the world's population, it is very difficult to diagnose and even more difficult to treat.

It's no secret that antibiotics act on a dividing bacterium, but not very much on an ambush. Long courses of powerful medications are required, which, unfortunately, have no less powerful side effects. This, according to WHO, is a huge problem – it is not known where and when it will "explode". Approximately 5-10 percent of those infected with latent tuberculosis becomes active, which is almost 200 million people - more than the population of modern Russia. And 1.5 million die a year. That is why scientists are looking for ways to cope with latent tuberculosis. And this study shows one of the possible ways. However, Izvestia also interprets this path in its own way:

"The study is also important in relation to the universal promotion of the fight for clean air for the benefit of health. Previously, it was assumed that it was bad ecology, including polluted air, that caused many diseases, including tuberculosis... However, thanks to the study, it became clear that a mixture of carbon monoxide, nitric acid and oxygen can be used for further development of TB vaccines."It turns out that there is no need to fight air pollution and smoking, smoke just saves from tuberculosis.

However, the authors of the study think, for some reason, differently. Quoting a press release: "The finding adds to a growing understanding that exposure to high levels of CO through air pollution and cigarette smoke plays a role in tuberculosis infection rates." To put it in Russian: exposure to high concentrations of CO through air pollution and tobacco smoke, on the contrary, is dangerous for humans - in the sense of infection with tuberculosis.

However, Izvestia also offers a chic vaccine. Evaluate the mixture: "carbon monoxide, nitric acid and oxygen". I wonder if the editor who released this text on the tape will agree to take such a cocktail to Vienna? I was especially pleased that NO, nitric oxide II, was called nitric acid (the formula of which is HNO ₃). Apparently, the editor skipped school not only biology, but also chemistry.

Bottom line: the news is distorted from the title to the last sentence. Bravo, Izvestia! Question: why was IT written?

The website of the magazine "Health" presented its version of what is happening, from which it is also clear that the editors did not read either the press release of the university or the magazine:

"They investigated the effects of carbon monoxide contained in tobacco smoke and automobile exhaust on Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It turned out that under the influence of the latter, mycobacteria lost mobility and became easy prey for immunity. "Of course, smoking will not protect you from tuberculosis, but in the near future a new generation of drugs containing carbon monoxide analogues may be developed," scientists say. 

Well yes. And before that, the fattened macrophages simply could not keep up with the ultra-fast and maneuverable mycobacteria equipped with pseudopods, false wings and a false motor. The causative agent of tuberculosis has never been an easy prey for immunity, that's the problem.

By the way, and about "preparations containing carbon monoxide analogues" (I wonder what kind of analogues are these?) not a word in the study either.

The full text of the next investigation conducted by uncle_doc, not only about tuberculosis with smoke, but also about white powder with hepatitis and healers with a diploma, read in the magazine "Be healthy".

Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru21.05.2008