6.6 Use of Antibiotics

Antibiotic Resistance 101: How Antibiotic Misuse on Factory Farms Can Make you Sick
This article was well written, easy to understand and included a lot of the microbiology behind Antibiotic Resistance (AR) in the livestock industry. What I learned that I previously did not know was that nontherapeutic use of certain drugs was not just to prevent livestock from getting ill but as growth hormones as well. It was also shocking to find out that nontherapeutic use of drugs in animals was more common than its medicinal use for humans with an estimated 70% of pharmaceuticals sold to the animal agricultural industry. With the increase use of this drugs, it makes it more challenging for diseases or infections to be treated when AR bacteria have been accidently selected for and are thriving in every environment from the digestive tract of an animal, to the waste, to the humans that work with it and those that consume the meat. I know that our digestive tract is colonized by endogenous flora that are good bacteria and help keep us healthy, but for those that consume it and fall short on preventing cross contamination and cooking the meat to its specific temperature the risk of being exposed to and acquiring AR E. Coli or AR Salmonella infection increases significantly. Furthermore, the greatest cause for concern in my opinion, is how AR bacteria have this incredible ability to transfer DNA with any type of bacteria including the good guys in our stomach. Through horizontal gene transfer they can spread their infected AR genes to any neighboring cell without any difficulties. Even though organic meat may not be completely free of AR bacteria it is still better because it is not contributing  to the reservoirs of resistance and its supporting organic farmers. It is just insane to read these articles and see how the government primarily serves the companies and not the consumers. The FDA needs to step up and take appropriate steps towards ensuring AR bacteria is stopped at the starting point which is nontherapeutic use in the livestock industry.

Nearby Livestock May Raise 'Superbug' Risk
In this article I learned that MRSA found in animals is becoming more common among people who do not have direct contact with the animals. This caused me to think about the countless times I go running on the trails near my house that is often used for cattle grazing. I am sure I have stepped in cow dung several times which causes me to take further precautions about what shoes I allow in my car since MRSA can live on surfaces for a long time. So next time I go running on the trails where cattle's graze, I will be sure to bring a change of shoes and a bag where I can put my running shoes in. This article also brought to mind the Coalinga neighborhoods surrounding the cow farms and the pig farms in North Carolina. There are so many unknown chemicals and antibiotics used in animals who are confined in tight spaces that the threat of a super bug superbug spreading quickly through entire herds is real.  Reading these four articles only reinforces why I choose to not eat meat or seafood. This is another reason why I encourage my family to substitute their meat with alternative proteins like legumes and beans.

Scientists Discover That Antimicrobial Wipes and Soaps May Be Making You (and Society) Sick
This article was comically written and a fun read. I have not personally used the SaniCart wipes but I have seen them at my local grocery store. Maybe because I always think I am not going to need a cart or a basket and end up carrying everything in my arms. It was very interesting to learn more about triclorocarban. By this article, it did not surprise me to read about the writer's findings. Using antimicrobial products do more harm, are more expensive and are less effective than soap and water. In my undergrad, we did a soap/hand sanitizer experiment in microbiology lab and we saw first hand how using hand sanitizer does not work as well as soap and water. However, in the situations where water and soap are not handy, I prefer to use hand sanitizer instead of not using anything at all.

 

 Antimicrobials in Hospital Furnishing: Do They Help Reduce Healthcare -Associated Infections
After reading this article, I think having products that already come with antimicrobial surfaces is problematic especially in hospital settings. This potentially could have a wider impact on patients with compromised immune systems and instead of reducing HAI it will create more strains of AR bacteria. The practices of most hospitals right now are doing a good job of preventing the spread of germs and infections and I feel these same practices should continue instead of getting antimicrobial furnishing for hospitals. The lack of evidence based research pointing to it as beneficial should be enough to prevent hospitals from buying them.