I don't know anything about Cuban availability of antibiotics, but it's possible that the US embargo has prevented some of them from coming in. (What's your source, David?)
There may have also a been a decision to be much more conservative[*] in the use of antibiotics. Unlike in the US, they may have held back on the abuse of antibiotics that produces the superbacteria. Specifically, they may not dose their chickens and cattle with them while allowing individuals to abuse them. (I can't believe the number of cases I've heard of doctors prescribing antibiotics for the flu, a viral ailment, because market forces push them to keep their patients happy.) The problem is that Cuba is a small country, so that even if they are and were responsible in bacteria use, the superbacteria arising in the US or other places with irresponsible antibiotic policies could come in and infect the Cubans. Cuba's great health indicators could decline in the future because of the sins of the capitalist gringos. [*] remember when one meaning of "conservative" was "responsible"? Nowadays, it seems to mean libertine Bushism. On 5/17/06, Walt Byars <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Perhaps they are, given their great health indicators! > Maybe you can find a story about how the lack of antibiotics in Cuba is > ensuring that Cubans are more resistant to superbacterias. > > David Shemano
-- Jim Devine / "the world still seems stuck in greed-lock, ruled by fossilized fools fueled by fossil fuels." -- Swami Beyondananda
