I’ve been sitting on this one for a while now, wondering on how best to approach it.

For our anniversary, my girlfriend got me this box of 12 #2 Antimicrobial Pencils from Ticonderoga.

My first thought was, “WTF is wrong with the world” quickly followed by a “Why would you get this for me?” to my girlfriend.   She shrugged and said “you like bacteria.”

Well, I guess I like them so much that she thought I should contribute to the growing problem of bacterial resistance to commercial antibiotics by introducing a new source of a completely useless product.

According to the front of the box:

Microban protection inhibits the growth of odor and stain causing bacteria

and according to Wikipedia:

Microban International, Ltd. produces chemicals used for antimicrobial product protection. These persistent chemicals provide antimicrobial properties in consumer, industrial and medical products… The broad application of the Microban product in everything from cutting boards to flooring, along with its long life in the product and hence the environment, has raised some concerns about the long term effects of its promiscuous use.

This could be a made up statistic, but 48.5 out of 50 microbiologists agree that the concept of Microban products is one of the stupidest they’ve heard in a while.

We’re overusing antimicrobial agents in everything from flooring, pencils and our colons.  It’s no wonder that widespread antibiotic resistance is wreaking havoc in the medical field.  Haven’t we seen in the recent spread of drug resistant superbugs, like MRSA)shown us the dangers of overusing antibiotics?

Apparantly not, because companies like Microban will not be satisfied until their antimicrobial products are in the lining of every pot and in the flooring of every garage.  Just looking at that insidious green packaging, in it’s environmentally friendly guise, is making me angry.

I can see the attractiveness of wanting to put antibiotics into pencils, sort of.  I suppose if you happen to be an elementary school teacher who’s students slobber all over their pencils, it could help stop the spread of germs,if they happen to share their pencils. But, this still, is going too far.

Bacteria will quickly build up resistance to these types of antibiotics, which is dangerous because of the increased virulence associated with increased resistance.  So, instead of a few relatively harmless bacteria on your pencil, you’ve got lots of harmful bacteria.

This simple fact speaks to a larger ignorance in the general public about the simple fact that antimicrobial products become less effective when they’re overused.  As a result, the doctor’s treatment arsenal is getting smaller, and science simply cannot produce new antibiotic agents as quickly as they are needed.

I am going to send an email to Microban International, Ltd to give them a piece of my mind, and I urge all my readers to do the same.  Perhaps we can pressure them into at least recognizing the potential problem associated with their company.

(my email - feel free to use this version or modify as needed for your own letters)

I am writing as a student in microbiology and biochemistry to express my concern about the general content and implications of your Microban products.
As you may or may not know, antimicrobial products are important tool in medicine and treating infectious diseases, however, their overuse is leading to a serious health problem.
This company, which seeks to put antimicrobial products into everything from flooring to pencils, is doing the public a great disservice.  It is important to realize that not all bacteria or fungi are killed by antimicrobials, and that the pathogens that survive are often the strongest and most virulent of the population.  These organisms are also largely resistant to antimicrobials.
Therefore, as more antimicrobials enter general use, they become less effective.  This is annoying problem for those concerned with household odors.  This is an potential public health catastrophe to those, like myself, who can envision what the overuse of antimicrobial products will bring.
In the news we see with cases like the MRSA superbug, which have been able to outmaneuver our antibiotics faster than science can produce them, and the result is often fatal (to children).  This is one of hundreds of different cases of virulent diseases made worse by overuse of antibiotics.
I write to urge this company to reconsider the way it approaches and applies it’s products.
Right now, overuse of antimicrobials is a nuisance, but in the future it could become a real health epidemic if this overuse is continued.  If Microban International, Ltd. truly cares about the public good and its consumer base, it will seriously reconsider its business approach.  

Sincerely and respectfully,

This entry was posted on Monday, May 26th, 2008 at 1:39 am and is filed under business, education, environment, evolution, microbiology, musings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.