Antibiotic resistant Bacteria Causing Death Of People And Swine

Mutated, antibiotic-resistant bacteria are killing people and swine in Scandinavia.

Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamases (ESBL) bacteria are suspected to be a cause of deaths of a number of people. This number has increased by 50% last year. Health officials said the bacteria are being transmitted to humans through pigs. The enlarged practise of using of antibiotics in agriculture might be the reason for spread of the resistant strain.

What are ESBLs?
Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamases (ESBLs) are enzymes that are produced by certain types of
bacteria, which renders the bacteria resistant to the antibiotics commonly used to treat them. ESBLs were first discovered in the mid-1980s. Back then they were mostly found in hospital intensive care units, and since few people were tormented by these mutated bacteria it wasn’t a major rising concern. Unfortunately, that has changed. British Health Protection Agency (HPA) claims that a new class of ESBL (CTX-M enzymes) has appeared which are now detected in E.Coli bacteria. These mutated bacteria are resistant to cephalosporin and penicillin, are the cause of the increase of urinary tract infection. Salmonella, K. pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and some other bacteria also produce ESBL.
The world a has a new problem, which much serious than many think!
100,000 cases of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections in the USA in 2005 led to 18,600 deaths, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).To illustrate how serious the problem is, AIDS, for example, killed 17,000 people that year.
Antibiotic-resistant disease is a major man-made problem. There has been a lot of discussion about reducing medical over-use of antibiotics, but little has been said about the increased use of such medicine in agriculture, which is one of the biggest sources of human antibiotic consumption, leading to the increase of antibiotic resistance.

Antibiotics in agriculture: Antibiotic resistance increases

Antibiotics are fed to animals raised for food production at low doses to prevent animal diseases and to make animals gain more weight. The high a prise was paid for growing profit of food production as this practice has created perfect conditions for antibiotic resistance to develop. MRSA and ESBL began their development as this practice continued.
Health officials in Scandinavia aren’t sure how farmers and veterinarians, who have not consumed infected meat, became infected. As Johns Hopkins website suggests, these organisms congregate in the lower digestive tract, and they can continue existing within the gastrointestinal
tract for months. The answer, perhaps, isn’t that complicated.
The meat industry continues to be the driving force behind the development of antibiotic resistance in a variety of bacteria that cause human disease. Although, in August, one of the most popular antibiotics- fluoroquinolones- had been banned from usage in agriculture, the problem of the increasing number of mutated bacteria, which threaten human health, has not been solved.

Other Agricultural Sources of Antibiotics

The Journal of Infectious Diseases published a very interesting study. It was found that people who ate one of the most tainted meat products – conventionally raised chicken – became resistant to a strong antibiotic, Synercid, used to treat antibiotic resistant bacteria. This means that it can cause resistance to the most advanced modern medicine.
This is just the beginning! Antibiotics are also being transferred, via manure, into your food supply.
A study, published by Journal of Environmental Quality in 2007, looked at whether crops will accrue antibiotics from soil covered with antibiotic containing manure. Corn, lettuce and potatoes were grown on soil, containing hog manure with commonly used veterinary antibiotic added. The results of this experiment were unsatisfactory. Antibiotics were absorbed by all three crops, into their tissue and lives. Potato tubers were affected as well. As the experiment result show, root crops, like radishes, potatoes, carrots and others, may be particularly at risk of antibiotic accumulation.
Unfortunately, these unveilings have implications for organic farmers, who use antibiotic-filled manure as their main source of fertilizer. And, so far, this manure is still standing under the organic label.

How to protect yourself form excessive antibiotic exposure

So how can you ensure that the food you feed to yourself and your family is pure and healthy?

There are several ways to protect you from the unhealthy effect of modified food. The best option is to get acquainted with your local farmer, the one who uses non-toxic farming methods. If you live in an urban area, there are increasing numbers of community-supported agriculture programs available that give you access to healthy, locally grown foods even if you live in the heart of the city.
In case you’re looking for a safer alternative to commercially raised beef, look for grass-fed beef. Such cattle are fed antibiotics ONLY in case their suffering an infection, but this is a rare exception, and even then antibiotics are only used for a few days.

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About the Author:
Serg, third-year medical student.
Environmental research group.