Science of Resistance: Antibiotics in Agriculture
The Risk to Human Health
It is estimated that over one-half of the antibiotics in the U.S. are used in food animal production. The overuse of antimicrobials in food animal production is an under-appreciated problem. In both human and veterinary medicine, the risk of developing resistance rises each time bacteria are exposed to antimicrobials. Resistance opens the door to treatment failure for even the most common pathogens and leads to an increasing number of infections. The mounting evidence of the relationship between antimicrobial use in animal husbandry and the increase in bacterial resistance in humans has prompted several reviews of agricultural practices by scientific authorities in a number of countries, including the US.
Overview of the Relationship Between Antimicrobial Use in Food Animal Production and Antibiotic Resistance
Exposure to antimicrobials fundamentally alters microbial ecosystems of humans, animals and the environment, which may lead to the development of antimicrobial resistance.
Increasing antimicrobial ...
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are created when mutations in the pathogen's genetic code occurs, changing the protein in the bacteria that the antibiotics normally go after into a shape that the antibiotic can not recognize. The average bacteria divides every twenty minutes, so if a contaminated spot has one single bacteria in the morning, there could be trillions on that same spot at the end of the day. That means that when counting all the possibilities of mutations, the amount of mutated offspring that the bacteria might have formed during those replications could be as high as in the millions. Fortunately though, this does not happen so frequently that it is normally an issue. The amount of non-mutated bacteria vastly outnumbers the mutated ones and many of the mutations occurring in the bacteria usually have either a harmful effect, or not effect at all on its function. That means that the pathogen is still relatively less harmful than it c...
middle of paper ... ... There are also many people that are worried that the use of antibiotics for treating bacteria on farms could cause the drugs to become resistant to the bacteria, which also infect humans. It is said that hormones are used more in the beef cattle operations than in dairy cattle operations.
Kaufman, M. (2000). Worries rise over effect of antibiotics in animal feed; Humans seen vulnerable to drug-resistant germs. Washington Post, p. A01. Retrieved from http://www.upc-online.org/000317wpost_animal_feed.html
In the modern agriculture industry, antibiotics are regularly fed to livestock such as chicken, pigs, and cattle to increase the growth rate of these animals. The livestock industry currently feeds 70 percent of the national antibiotic supply to healthy livestock. The remaining 14 and 16 percent, respectively, are used to treat...
The food we eat today is processed faster than ever; however, some may say this is a bad thing. A quote by Michael Pollan says “Don’t eat anything that your great-grandmother would not recognize as food.” This quote’s underlying meaning is that the food of our great-grandparents’ time is more nutritious and healthier than the food of today. Even with today’s processed foods, the food is still healthier than the food of the past.
Not only does antibiotic resistance happen to humans, it also happens to animals, which increases the problem.
When bacteria are frequently exposed to antibiotics it can become resistant to the drug so that it is no longer effective in treating a specific illness (Visser). To compensate for unhygienic environments and to accelerate growth, antibiotics are often given to food animals in the U.S. In 2011, 29.9 million pounds of antibiotics were sold in America for meat and poultry production ("Record"). Many of the types of antibiotics used in food animal production is also used in human medicine, and according to the WHO, “widespread use of antim...
Resistance arises from mutations that are not under the control of humans, but the evolution of bacteria has been sped along by the overexposure of antibiotics to both people and animals. The number of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria in an area is closely related to the frequency that antibiotics that are prescribed (Todar, 2012). Patients often unnecessarily demand antibiotics to treat common colds or simple illnesses that are not caused by bacteria. Instead, these infections are caused by viruses which, unlike bacteria, are unaffected by antibiotics. Incorrect diagnosis can also lead patients to using unnecessary antibiotics, which can sometimes be even more dangerous than otherwise left untreated. Besides the fact that antibiotics kill off beneficial bacteria in the intestines, misuse of antibiotics provides an opportunity ...
The threat of antibiotic resistant bacteria emerging through the increase in usage of antibiotics has become a global health concern. Antibiotic resistance bacteria cause infections that are unable to be treated by normal measures that lead to prolonged illness and greater risk of death. The number of antibiotic resistant strains threatens health security, the control of infectious disease, increases the cost of health care, and can damage trade (World Health Organization, 2013). Animal husbandry and the use of sub-therapeutic antibiotics in animal feed are listed as two of the major factors leading to the acceleration and sprea...
However, health concerned organizations want to ban the use of these products due to the increasing fears that they can cause harm to the consumers. For over 50 years, antibiotics have been added to the food of animals such as poultry, cattle and pigs. The main purpose for doing so is to lower the risk of disease in animals. Farm animals are housed together in overcrowded areas, which are very dirty. The hygiene level can get to such a poor state that they are often in contact with their own excreta as well as excreta of the other animals they are housed with and because of tight single air space they share, the likelihood of catching diseases from one another is further increased and very often a whole heard can be infected at one time.
This turn of events presents us with an alarming problem. Strains of bacteria that are resistant to all prescribed antibiotics are beginning to appear. As a result, diseases such as tuberculosis and penicillin-resistant gonorrhea are reemerging on a worldwide scale (1). Resistance first appears in a population of bacteria through conditions that favor its selection. When an antibiotic attacks a group of bacteria, cells that are highly susceptible to the medicine will die.
Cattle growers are always trying to find ways to counteract these problems. Antibiotics are used as means to kill the residual harmful bacteria in the rumen. Antibiotics have yet another advantage for the cattle ranchers. Small doses of antibiotics have allowed the cattle to make more efficient use of its ' food as it can boost protein synthesis, metabolic rate, and nutrient absorption. In a 2001 report by the Union of Concerned Scientists, it was concluded that 70 percent of antibiotics used for cattle in the United States were used for the sole purpose of improving the growth and performance of healthy cattle. This may seem all well and good, but giving cattle antibiotics has a major disadvantage. Antibiotics cause a small amount of bacteria
The most effective way to combat pathogenic bacteria which invade the body is the use of antibiotics. Overexposure to antibiotics can easily lead to resistant strains of bacteria. Resistance is dangerous because bacteria can easily spread from person to person. Simple methods for preventing excessive bacterial spread are often overlooked. Not all preventative measures are even adequate. Doctors and patients often use antibiotics unnecessarily or incorrectly, leading to greater resistance. Antibiotics are used heavily in livestock and this excessive antibiotic use can create resistant bacteria and transfer them to humans. In order to reduce resistant bacteria,
There are 5 main pathways of environmental transmission of pathogens. Those are air-borne, food-borne, water-borne, vector-borne and blood-borne. Air-borne transmission refers to any disease that is caused by a pathogen and transmitted through the air. These pathogens can be spread by coughing, sneezing, stirring dust, liquid spraying, or generally any activity that generate aerosol particles or droplets. These pathogens can include viruses, bacteria, or fungi. Some common examples of pathogens that are spread via air-borne transmission are rhinovirus, hantavirus, adenovirus, and influenza, among many others (cdc.gov).
“People can become infected with antibiotic bacteria from a variety of resources. [such as] meat or other foods. if not properly cooked [and] workers who have contact with animals at factory farms.” (Gale, 2013). The fact that there are chances for people to get sick from their most desired foods shows how bad factory farming can be.