Tuesday 18 August 2009

Why Healthcare Providers Fail To Reduce Spreading Superbug Infections

Hospital infection is increasing day after day and more patients will be affected in the future. There are various contributing factors, which has made this war with bugs more difficult to control. The situation has been made worse by the new “Swine flu” and other emerging infections. Pharmaceutical companies stopped investing in developing new antibiotics in 1970s but the bacteria did not stop developing methods to defend themselves. Stronger methods of killing S. aureus, vancomycin and linezolid, were developed, but as of 2002 and 2003, VRSA and LRSA have respectively been detected in the United States. New research on the threat of community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) in primary care (UK) shows that as many as one in five patients who contract MRSA in the community are dead within a year.

Bacteria are living single cell organism which colonize our skin and are constantly multiplying every twenty minutes. Women’s hands are said to be colonized with 4,500 types of bacteria. Most bacteria are harmless but the advent of antibiotic resistant bacteria is now helping these harmless bacteria turn vicious killers. Virus infection is known to reduce immunity and help bacteria present in our nose and skin enter our body.


Published data from USA suggest seasonal flu in children has gradually increased in the last five years. 64% of death in children with seasonal flu was contributed to co-infection with MRSA infection, 52% were said to have died in 48 hours. This is a worrying situation for doctors because these infections occur in previously healthy adults and children that rapidly result in mortality. Data related to Swine flu are not available but we anticipate the number of death is likely to increase and will be associated with antibiotic resistant bacterial infections.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that more than two million hospital-acquired infections occur annually and are responsible for 90,000 deaths in USA.
Infectious diseases are now the second leading cause of death worldwide.. Today, Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus (VRE) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) pose a severe threat to public health and underscore the need for critical care professionals to equip themselves with the most effective infection control strategies.

Many
new and re-emerging microbial threats, such as viral, bacterial, malaria, TB, polio and fungal infections will challenge intensive care providers well into the future. With government and private insurers increasingly refusing to reimburse providers for treatment of hospital-acquired infections, the situation is dire.

Medifix Doctors, have been striving hard to help reduce the spread of these infections in the hospitals and in the community. As treatment is not an option because the bacteria are more virulent and said to harbour various enzymes that kill the patient in 48 hours, the only option available is to help reduce these infections is to meticulously wash hands using soap and water.

What Is The Problem?

Fifty three (53) million people worldwide are now said to be colonized with these bacteria. One in three people are asymptomatic carriers and in USA, 60% attending ER were found to be colonized with MRSA.
Nurses’ and doctor’s contact with potentially infectious persons probably place them at higher risk than the general population for infectious diseases. 48%-52% of healthcare workers are carriers and can pose a risk to their family, friends and patients.

Hospital
bacteria which survive attacks by disinfectants and antiseptics are becoming ultra-resistant superbugs which cannot be killed. Biocides, the bacteria-killing chemicals are universally used in hospitals to clean surfaces, sterilise medical instruments and equipment, and decontaminate skin before surgery. Bacteria have in-built protein pumps that expel many different toxic substances from their cells. These "efflux pumps" are known to remove antibiotics and make bugs drug-resistant. They are also said to be encapsulated in biofilm which protect them from chemical attack.

Hand washing has been associated with preventing the spread of infection and illness. While this is almost always true, hand washing has also been now linked to a few health problems. Fifty-eight percent of the participants developed dermatitis on their hands, which was associated with soap use. Alcohol-based hand cleaners had no effect on hand dermatitis. All of the severe dermatitis cases occurred in those who washed their hands more than 10 times a day were the most likely to develop the skin condition and were colonised with antibiotic resistant bacteria.

Though washing with soap will eliminate most of the hand's bacteria colonies, some pathogens with a genetic pre-disposition to resist the soap's antibiotic properties will survive. When these resistant bacteria divide, they pass their resistance on, creating entire colonies of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Besides continually developing new drugs, antibiotic resistance can be slowed by carefully limiting use of antibacterial or antimicrobial soaps and cleaners. Healthcare professionals are debating about using strong chemicals to kill bacteria. Warwick University (UK) found sewer, rivers and soil are now contaminated with antibiotic resistant bacteria like MRSA. They have blamed excessive use of detergents and shampoo at hospitals and homes.

NHS hospitals in UK were vigorously cleaned with strong chemicals without careful consideration of data published in various medical and scientific journals. The incidence of antibiotic resistant bacterial infection has increased by 3% in 2008.


Dr. Wesley is the State EMS Medical Director for Minnesota, USA found 32% of stethoscopes used in ER were colonized with MRSA. Hospital computers, equipments, mobile phones and handbags used by doctors are said to be colonised with resistant bacteria.

Hospitals are major source of spreading infections. The reason is obvious and the control measures are outdates. Nurse led infection control has not produced any reduction of infections. The reason we think they are not successful is that they are depending on data and protocols published in 1980 & 90s.

DH (UK) study published in 2008 clearly show the infection rate was is
not associated with dirty hospitals, over crowding and temporary staff but was said to be associated with intravenous drips.

A
new superbug that is resistant to all antibiotics has been brought into Britain by patients having cosmetic surgery or organ transplants in India & Pakistan in July 2009. This bacteria is said to be armed with an enzyme, called New Delhi Metallo-1. It is of particular concern because it can jump from one strain of bacteria to another meaning it could attach itself to more dangerous infections that can cause severe illnesses and blood poisoning making them almost impossible to treat. The NDM-1 enzyme destroys a group of antibiotics called carbapenems which are mainly used in Britain for severe infections and are tightly controlled.

One in 20 Healthcare workers now carry MRSA, and Common places in your office are colonized with Bacteria are telephone, mobile phone, computers, keyboard, coffee rooms and women's hand bag and shaking hands with you client as it is said to be more dangerous than kissing.

Protocols and policies used in hospitals to prevent and manage infections are based on studies carried out in 1980s & 90s and are now obsolete. We need alternative technique and devices to help us reduce introducing bacterial infections that kill. One in three healthy adults and children are said to be colonised with bacteria in the hands and nose. Most disposable plastic devices used in the hospitals are inserted through the skin, mouth and nostrils. Device manufacturers are not encouraging doctors to produce alternate device to help reduce this threat due to the fear of loose their control and products.

Medical device manufacturers are still talking about "
Sharp Injuries" as a major problem encountered in hospitals. Despite published data, prove the risk of contracting infection through Needle stick injury is considerably low. One healthcare worker contracted HIV infection and nine developed Hep C infection in ten years. These companies have invested large amounts of funds on developing and marketing safety device claiming sharp injuries is a major occupational hazard. They have also successfully lobbied and implemented law making it mandatory to use safety devices. These safety devices have no added benefit to patient care and not help us reduce infections spreading in the hospitals.

Since we started this campaign, people dying from infections in our hospitals have reached catastrophic proportion and is now worldwide. The evidence available clearly, points to
poor hygienic practical procedures and is not associated with dirty hospitals. Soon medical profession we’ve created to help us live more comfortable healthier lives will come to a girding halt.

Healthcare professionals use various plastic devices when performing procedures but are not adequately monitored after trained. These technique are very essential but is now associated with high risk of infections that cannot be treated with conventional antibiotics. Once infected, one in five of these patients are likely to die within a year. We feel it is very important to reduce introducing infection via drip sites, catheters, endotracheal tubes and injection sites created in the hospitals.

We have also identified
doctors and nurses are not aware of good skin preparing method nor are they practicing adequate “Drying time”. Healthcare professionals think they are sterile once they wash their hands and use gloves. When performing practical procedures we noticed doctors / nurse touching un-sterile objects, hands of the patient and surfaces. DH (UK) published their finding stating IV Drip is associated with high infection rate. They are recommending changing IV Drip sites every 48 hours due to legal reasons and not based on clinical evidence.

Using 70% alcohol to clean skin is associated with higher incidence of phlebitis and now rarely kills bacteria. By reducing, the duration a device placed on the skin it is less likely to reduce infections. Doctors use on average two to three attempts to successfully insert one cannula. This multiple puncture sites created by staff will be colonized with bacteria resulting in abscess and bacteria will enter blood resulting in septicaemia and death.

Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust (UK) has instead begun prescribing the insertion of cannula - The trust said since the introduction last
November there have been no new cases of MRSA infections. This figure covers all forms of MRSA, including bloodstream infections (also known as bacteraemia) and wound infections.

Medifix Doctors have been warning various device manufacturers to bring in devices to help ease technique. Doctors and nurses make perform various technique are not adequately monitored or trained. This is mandatory because the route of infection is most likely to be via drip sites, injections and other puncture sites created in the hospitals.

Identify suitable partners to help develop medical devices that help doctors and patients are now very essential to control spread. Since we started our project, we have noticed harmless bacteria, virus and even fungus are now resistant to treatment. Our soil and rivers are said to be polluted with antibiotic resistant bacteria that kill.

Pharmaceutical companies are not keen to invest on developing new antibiotics because the bacteria are rapidly developing resistant. In 2008,
Pfizer (UK) withdrew Linezolid (New Antibiotic) after resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (LRSA) was reported: Since this happened not many pharmaceutical companies are venturing into antibiotic R&D.

Patients with viral infections (Swine flu) have poor appetite, sweat and are more likely to be dehydrated. These sick patients will need venous access to administer drugs, fluids and nutrition.
Inserting IV Cannula in dehydrated patient is very difficult resulting in multiple attempts. Multiple punctures taken to insert cannula are traumatic to patients and stressful to doctors or nurses. Bacteria colonised in the hands of patient or the gloves of healthcare professionals are more likely to be introduced through skin resulting in septicaemia and death.

Monday 17 August 2009

NURSE PRACTIONER, SPECIALIST NURSE AND INDEPENDENT NURSE CONSULTANTS & PROTOCOLS IN NHS

Nurse Led Practice and Independent Nurse Practioners allowed to diagnose, prescribe and treat patients in NHS hospitals have mushroomed in UK since the Government decided to modernize NHS. I have worked in such surgery and am now publishing this to draw the attention of authorities and leaders of medical profession to help me with my ethical dilemma.

As a doctor, I initially thought this was a good idea and was keen to participate but now find it is ethically uncomfortable to support this shift of care to nurses. Nurses are not medically trained and lack in-depth knowledge of anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, microbiology and pathology. Lacking this knowledge is likely to affect diagnosis, clinical management and treatment


A nurse is a health professional who is centered on protecting the families, communities, individuals to make sure that they maintain, attain and recover optimal functioning and health.
Since nurse have been allowed to practical procedures, prescribe and treat patients they are getting over confident and started behaving as if they know how to manage most illness. We as doctors know this is a very dangerous situation because our basic duty as a doctor is to identify a medical condition, which is safe to manage and refer the ones we cannot to hospital care. It takes years before we can master the art and feel confident. I found out the nurses are not trained as doctors, they have meticulously followed protocols and policies, but this is not safe practice. Most nurses learn from seeing what other doctors do and are keen to remind us about the protocol and policies but fail to understand that it is the doctor who has the responsibility for the care of patients.

I have seen simple problems like scabies, fungal infections and asthma with bacterial infection treated wrongly with steroid, asthma cough that was responding to bronchodilator treated with cough suppressants, mouth ulcers in immuno-suppressed patient treated with Bonjela and skin rash due to staphylococcus treated with penicillin.

It is important we realize disease presentations, drug therapy and management have been changing rapidly in the last ten years. Advent of antibiotic resistant bacterial infections is now threatening our profession. Allowing nurses to prescribe antibiotics is not safe because the data and protocol they follow are based on existence of antibiotic sensitive bacterial infections. Inadevet use of antibiotics is said to increase bacteria developing resistant strains.

As doctors, how could we have allowed this to happen in the NHS? If it is our duty to let GMC know when a doctor is unsafe, what are we supposed to do if the problem happens to be a nurse?
I am now officially questioning the role of NHS Independent Nurse Practitioners role, Nurse Prescribers and Specialist Nurses managing in-patients in our NHS.

“OUR DUTY”

If we, the doctors cannot defend our patients and our profession, what is this all about "Safe Doctors" and "The right to treat"? If health authorities think NICE Guidelines is the Bible for doctors and BNF dictates my treatment then why should we encourage and train our youngsters to become doctors? People can read these guidelines and the pharmacist can dispense medication to patients. This could save considerable amount of taxpayer’s money to NHS.

GMC impose strict criteria to prevent non-European doctor from working in UK. They are expected to pass examination organised by The Professional & Linguistic Board to prove they are "Safe Doctors" before being allowed to work as doctors in UK. How is that the nurses who do not understand the difference between Penicillin, Amoxicillin & Flucloxacillin and think doctors must strictly follow BNF to prescribe medication and feel using nasogastric tube to drain distended bladder as un-ethical are allowed to prescribe medication and offer treatment.

Nurses who cannot make out the difference between budesonide and inhaled steroid in the management of upper airway obstruction and the role of hydrocortisone and prednisolone in the management of combined immune deficiency to instigate a complaint against a doctor. These nurses have not been properly assessed and have not received any medical training yet they are treated as independent medical practitioners. This I find it ethically uncomfortable because, patients who have suffered from trivial problem or complaints, which could have been managed better, are made to suffer.

I feel the GMC, BMA and DH have ignoring "Medical Ethics" and so doing more harm to medical profession. Various publications, guidelines and rules have been drafted by PCT which are not in the interest of patients who seek help from doctors but only to protect the institution which thrives on a the so called "Noble Profession".

The very people who claim to manage and modernise have ripped the profession relationship, which is more important than the personal for a sick patient, apart. Our trusted patients who believe in us are made to suffer because the organization has nailed our (doctors) hands to the coffin.

“MODERNISING HEALTH CARE”
In the name of modernising medicine, our Government and NHS have destroyed our profession made us loose control and encouraged bacteria, virus and fungal infection spreading in our community. CDC & Doctors in UK are criticising government in developing countries to impose strict guidelines on antibiotic prescription to help control antibiotic resistant bacterial spreading in our community but NHS feels nurses could be allowed to prescribe. Alexander Fleming did warn us to guard penicillin because he did find that bacteria were rapidly becoming resistant to treatment.

I have spent half my lifetime working as a doctor, always believed in the NHS and been proud to be part of this organisation. I feel healthcare must be free of cost to all and must be a service offered by people who are dedicated and thrive on gratitude. It is sad to see how medical profession has been highjacked by politicians and greedy businessperson and has been commercialised to generate profit.

Since our Government has taken-up the task of modernizing NHS, I think the problem of providing good free healthcare has escalated to catastrophic proportion. NHS has vigorously shifted the care of patients to nurses and ignored doctor’s advice. I only heard sad stories from friends and patients who have seeked help from NHS. Most find it hard to get an appointment to seek advice from doctors or consult specialist in the hospital. Due to the delay, some patients have been managed badly in hospitals. Our hospitals are riddled with infections that are killing thousands but the advisers (Specialist Infection Control Nurses) have not helped to reduce this threat.

I think the NHS has breeched basic human right by denying and preventing the rights of patients to access healthcare.

Saturday 13 June 2009

Friday 24 April 2009

Using Virus To Kill Bacteria Is Like Playing With Fire

Viruses could kill superbugs that antibiotics can’t by Catherine de Lange was published in New Scientist. This is my response to this article:

Hindus in India have this ritual of making their dead relatives drink Ganges water. Ganges is colonised with bacteriophages. This ritual helps prevent abdominal distention caused by multiplying bacteria in the stomach of a dead person. Hindus call this water “Amrith” the nectar of immortality.

In this 1999 BBC2 TV programme it clearly shows that there is a way to beat these hospital super bugs (http://www.medifix.org/safec/pages/bacteriophage.html).

We must not forget how life evolved and eukaryotes were formed to get over enthusiastic about bacteriophage therapy.

Bacteria are “prokaryotes”; their cells are smaller than those of all higher organisms “eukaryotes” and have a simpler structure, lacking a well-defined nucleus. However, around a billion years ago, a group of free-living photosynthetic cyanobacteria took up residence inside other primitive single-celled organisms to form the energy generating chloroplast of the first plant cells. In addition, in a similarly extraordinary maneuver oxygen-utilizing mi­crobes called alpha proteobacteria (looks like a virus) became incorporated into other microbes as mitochondria, the powerhouse of animal cells.

If the bacteriophage (virus) for some unknown reason takes refuge in the bacteria, we do not know what the effect could be. I feel very uncomfortable when I read publication about using virus to kill bacteria. Playing with bacteriophage is like “playing with fire”

Bacteriophage helps kill bacteria locally but it may not be a good idea to treat systemic infection. Using Bacteriophage to kill virulent super smart bacteria can be dangerous because this virus may carry plasmid from one bacteria to another result in different strains of bacteria developing immunity to antibiotics. We know this has already hapened because we now have ten bacterias that are resistant to treatment. The virus may also decide to live inside a bacteria or incorporate their RNA similar to HIV virus in a cell.

The best option I think we must encourage is “meticulously and religiously prevent introducing bacteria into human” by strict aseptic technique and avoiding all practical procedures. If we continue allowing the bacteria to thrive in our body, we will be giving them more opportunity to learn to fight, educate other bacteria, multiply and infect more healthy adults and children.

Monday 20 April 2009

"Collapse of US Dollar” Why Did I Not See This Coming?

British invented “The Banks” and controlled the world finance before the World Wars, and then taken over by the Americans who made money by supporting Germans and the British. Now both are locked in together “Rubbing Shoulder To Shoulder” they are inseparable.

What will you do, if your investment is in Dollar? Politicians for centuries have concealed their wealth in Swiss Banks in Dollar, bought property-paying Dollars, and established business in USA converting all their savings in Dollar. Obviously, what aids and sustains the US dollar is a ‘suspended sense of disbelief’ amongst countries about the value of US dollar. Excess supply will obviously result in a fall in the value of any product. The US Dollar ($) and Sterling Pound (£) are no exception.

George Bush & Toney Blaire were passionately drumming up support, threatening Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and later killed him along with millions of Iraqis, looted their oil, antiques and now abandoning them in disarray. Why don’t you think these clowns are not invading Tibet, Sri Lanka or Burma? Sadam Hussain, once a buddy of the US President fell apart because he started exploiting the inherent weakness of the US dollar, He wanted to trade his crude oil in Euros, (French & Germans loved the idea) which would have lead to a lower demand for the US Dollar and thereby triggered a dollar collapse. This was the ‘weapons of mass destruction “WMD”.

Now Venezuela and Iran too possess the very same “WMD”, but the Americans are not brave enough to invade. So they elected “Black President”, but why ?. I always say there are no freebees in marketing. Its easy to sell to the majority coloured (Asians & Chinese) telling them “We Americans are not Racists”, we are here to help you, your investment is safe”. G2 summit did exactly what I expected, get the funding (1 Trillion $) from the Chinese, telling them we will loan the funds to developing nations. They will buy goods from the west (made in China). Our boys (have jobs & so pay tax) can go and help these poor countries build roads to drive our cars. In return, China will continue to trade and sell their toys, plastic buckets and shoes in USA and Europe. Indians are lost and waiting for America and Europe to kick-start their economy, so they can provide their service and continue renting office space to establish more call centres.

Crude oil is produced mainly in the Middle East; officially, it can be only purchased in dollar terms from one of the two oil exchanges situated in New York and London. Obviously, should Iran carry out the threat to commence oil trade in Euros or better still an oil exchange, the US dollar would come under tremendous pressure. USA will require some specious arguments and military intervention to protect the US dollar. Never in the history of humankind has a national army protected the national currency so vigorously as the US Army has done is the past decade.

US dollar is now a promissory note of a bankrupt company because this currency is not backed by gold, it is just a piece of paper. When US abandoned the Gold Standard (Dollar was backed by Gold earned from Germany & UK by funding two World Wars) in early 70s, countries habituated by then to the US dollar under the Bretton Woods arrangement countries continued to accept the US dollar as an international currency. The world was not prepared for any other alternative so prevented the collapse of global economy in1971. This diplomatic silence did not solve the problem but merely postponed has come back to haunt us. May be things would have been different in 1971 because the population was only 30% of what it is now. We have more mouths to feed and more greedy people to manage.

Post gold standard, by a tacit approval of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and strategic manoeuvring, the US had ensured that its currency is implicitly backed by crude, instead of gold. This explains the American ‘geo-political and strategic interests’ in the Middle East.

However, over time, even this was found to be insufficient and consequently the oil standard of the 70s gave way to an implicit multiple commodity standard of today. Naturally, commodity prices including crude prices have soared in the past few years. Unfortunately, this arrangement too is failing the US Dollar. No wonder, protecting US dollar is more important than than global warming. They are not ready to find alternative fuel or use battery-powered cars.
It is no coincidence that global trade in most commodities, including oil, is denominated in US dollars, as the respective international exchanges are located in the US. To what extent are the prices of these commodities manipulated to protect the US dollar is anybody’s guess.

Countries are have realised the value of the US dollar is not sustainable, whatever be the ‘officially managed exchange rate.’ Few people now want the US dollar and so are investing in Gold. If Iran starts trading oil in Euro or Rupees and other currencies, the demand for the US dollar will fall similar to Twin Towers on 9/11.

US Fed is not willing to make public the M3 figures, as it does not want the holding position of the US dollar to be publicised. Some economists are still betting on central banks of other countries to defend the US dollar. It would seem that the US has ‘outsourced’ even this sovereign function to the central banks of other countries. After all, should the US dollar collapse, the biggest losers will not be the US and those who own assets and savings locked up in US dollar in Swiss Bank Lockers.

Naturally, countries holding US dollar reserves are caught in the middle – if they decide to correct the global imbalance, it could result in the imminent collapse of the US dollar, and should they continue to defend the US dollar, they would be a long-term loser as the current arrangement has seeds of self-destruction.

Every central banker is conscious of this fact and is trying hard to postpone the inevitable. Bankers are grabbing in funds and paying them huge bonus payment, we are left in the lurch, twiddling our thumb watching the drama unfold. No one has the guts or the courage to speak out because we were enjoying ourselves parted our freedom.

What a fool, I have been in the last twenty years trying to bring in changes in the way various practical procedures are performed in hospitals. I was so focused on my "bug busting", I failed to stop doctors and nurses offer tender loving care by allowing the bugs to feed on patients in our hospitals and the politicians draining our funds. Believe me, nature is more powerful than you imagine, and I can see the wave coming in like Tsunami and is likely to wipe out a generation. Mr Attenborough, need not work hard to promote family planning and I need not worry about my pension.

Friday 10 April 2009

Collapse of the US Dollar

Global Imbalance - An imminent Dollar Crisis by CA M.R. Venkatesh, Chennai Part of INDIA RE-DISCOVERED A Seminar on Global Economy By SWADESHI JAGARAN MANCH and VISION INDIA TRUST

The skew in the global financial system -- commonly called 'global imbalance' -- seems to be fast spiralling out of control.

For some time now economists have been engaged in the mother of all debates: whether the US dollar would collapse by as much as 40% when compared to other currencies (some are even betting on the US dollar going belly-up) or whether there would be an orderly devaluation -- that is, a gradual revaluation of other currencies vis-�-vis the US dollar.

In effect, the question that is confronting us is not 'whether' but 'when' and by 'how much.'

This global imbalance can be understood in economic terms by simply examining the massive size of America's twin deficits -- trade and budgetary. Put modestly, Americans have been living way beyond their means, consuming much more than what they could possibly afford and, in the process, borrowing far beyond their capacity for too long.

This was facilitated by a policy of maintaining weak currencies across the world, notably in Asia. This policy of maintaining a competitive exchange rate for their currency to boost exports has resulted in a race to the bottom amongst various countries.

Nevertheless, this arrangement suited countries, both Asian (with a huge unemployed population) and American, (as it provided cheap imports for its huge consumption binge).

While the going was good, everyone profited and expected the arrangement to continue indefinitely. Unfortunately, linearity as a concept has limited appeal in real life, much less is global macroeconomics.

No wonder, of late, countries are discovering that this arrangement has its limitations. The current account deficit of the United States translates into current account surplus of exporting countries. To cover this deficit, US borrows: this corresponds to the forex reserves of exporting countries. The crux of the issue is that no other country, barring the US, has such a huge consumption pattern and an ability to absorb this huge export surplus.

In substance, countries are producing their goods, exporting it mostly to the US, and parking the resulting export surpluses with the US to facilitate US to finance its imports!

Clearly, the global imbalance is a by-product of this mindless competition by various countries to devalue their own currencies and the reckless consumption in US. Naturally, it is indeed tempting to blame US consumption for this crisis. However, one must hasten to add that the emerging economies -- notably Asian countries, especially after the1998 currency crisis -- with their fixation for weak currencies, are equally to be blamed.

The net result? Well, consider these facts:

Global Imbalance - An imminent Dollar Crisis
Source: video.google.com