Great post by Tej Deol, MD, over at the very informative Asia Healthspace blog. He examines how two recent stories - that of Anil Potti, the resume forging Duke Medical School researcher who faked his way into the Lancet, and the emergence of a new, potentially dangerous Superbug from India which has scientists worried and Indian politicians in a huff – really point to a need for greater vigilance both within the publishing offices of professional academics and the decidedly less polished hallways of public health spaces.
In light of the Anil Potti story Dr. Deol points light fun at my own take on the Superbug fiasco because I admonish Indian politicians for their carelessness by way of contrast with the rigorous professional standards of the Lancet (and because Anil Potti worked at my alma mater, though I’ll point out it’s not his alma mater).
The facts being as they are, I certainly can’t complain about Deol’s playful riff since it is meant much more so to criticize the Lancet for its failure to uphold standards than as a dig at inconsequential young me. The Lancet, indeed, cooked it’s carrots without peeling them, and because of that shortcut it’s rightfully dealing with criticism.
But, I still think my reasoning regarding India’s politician’s to be solid because despite the Lancet’s failing in this one instance it would be foolish to dismiss its many decades of credible science reporting. The Indian politicians attempts to make the Lancet report out to be the bumbling of laymen journalist idiots, is dangerous.
My answer to Dr. Deol’s questions then is the same as his (later in the article he shares his own experience with the unregulated pharma market in India) a resounding “EVERYBODY”. Everybody involved in related activities of health monitoring, research and reporting needs to wake up, and in this brave new world of global migration, global research networks, digital data bases, and global pressures, it’d be good if they could wake up quickly because the problems of rushed research and complicated, dangerous pathogens are only going to get more stark as our numbers grow and our world continues to speed up.
Read Dr. Deol’s article here.
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