Stop blanket animal antibiotics now - before it's too late

Factory Farm Workers Are Carrying An Antibiotic-Resistant Pig BacteriaBy Aviva Shen on Jul 9, 2013 at 3:50 pmhttp://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/07/09/2270181/factory-farm-workers-drug-resistant-bugs/?mobile=wt(Credit: AP)Shortly before Americans fired up their grills for Independence Day, researchersannounced that industrial farm workers have been contaminated with “pig MRSA,” an antibiotic resistant bacteria that is increasingly found in American hogs. According to a new study, workers at factory hog farms that use antibiotics are far more likely to contract the drug-resistant bacteria from the pigs than workers at antibiotic-free operations.This finding puts a huge dent in the meat industry’s argument that blanket antibiotic use in animals is perfectly safe. Conventional factory farms regularly dose their livestock with antibiotics, regardless of whether or not they are sick. More than 70 percent of all antibiotics sold in the U.S. go to pigs, cows, chickens, turkey, and other meat animals. As a result, drug-resistant superbugs are on the rise; earlier this year, the FDA determined thatmore than half the meat in the U.S. contains antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria including salmonella and Campylobacteron.But the new study, which focused on North Carolinian hog farms, makes the first clear link between the bacteria’s spread and exposure to animals pumped full of antibiotics. Farm workers are not only at risk themselves,...

Source: PharmaGossip - July 10, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs