One of the persistently interesting aspects of the war on terrorism story is how much information ends up getting published in the British or other foreign press, but never seems to see the light of day in the United States. Here’s one example from The Times of London about the FBI considering tactics that border on torture to get a few key suspects to talk. Sounds grisly; but the moral stakes involved are quite complex, and tricky.
I’ve also gotten a number of responses to the last post on Cipro. A number of readers make what seems to be a quite valid medical/public health point about the use or over-use of this drug. They note (as I did) that this strain of Anthrax is susceptible to a number of antibiotics. And that the one thing we don’t want to do is use so much Cipro that we end up creating a plethora of new Cipro-resistant bugs.
There are a few possible flaws with this argument that come to mind. But I’m not a doctor. So I’m really not in a position to evaluate it on the merits. But the point I was making was political, not medical. And on that basis, I think the point stands.
Here’s why.
Maybe we should be using more penicillin than Cipro. Who knows? But there’s nothing we’ve heard from Tommy Thompson that would make us think that this is why they’re supplementing the Cipro stockpiles with doxycycline and penicillin. The issue seems to be patent law. And what I’m saying that is that this decision needs to be made on the basis of scientific, medical and public health considerations, not patent law issues.
