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M6.6 Use of Antibiotics




The Food & Water Watch, Antibiotic Resistance 101, article addresses the dangers of antibiotics use in industrial farms to promote growth. Industrial farms have been using low dosage of antibiotics to prevent disease and promote growth this practice is called nontherapeutic use. The problem with nontherapeutic use is antibiotic resistance (AR), bacteria evolve in response to the use of antibiotics in both humans and animals. The spread of “AR bacteria in livestock can spread to the farmers, farmworkers, meat plant workers, and the general population.” It also spreads through waste stored in the lagoons and later used as fertilizer. It continues to reproduce in the soil, spreading to streams, ponds, and groundwater. Moreover, living near livestock may increase the risk of exposure. A study conducted in the Netherlands found that the proximity of livestock was a key risk factor for nasal carriage of the “superbug,” methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) for both people who had direct contact with livestock and does who did not. In the US there is much work to be done in investigating the relationship between CAFOs and exposure to AR bacteria. The CDC reports that at least 2 million Americans each year experience AR infections, leading to 23, 000 deaths. The health concern is that life-saving drugs are losing their effectiveness, and there are limited replacement drugs. It is also having an impact on healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), a growing proportion of these infections are caused by AR pathogens, including (MRSA). To help reduce the risk of HAIs, healthcare manufacturers are developing furnishings with antimicrobial properties. This is a solution that needs to be researched according to the Antimicrobials Report (2016). Too often there is a failure to examine product’s benefits, risks, tradeoff, and cost implications. This is true for antibacterial soaps and wipes. We continue to want to protect ourselves from getting sick, and instead, we are making ourselves more vulnerable. A study found that healthy handwashers had no difference between the effects of the two (soap and antibiotic soap), however, for chronically sick patients’ antibiotic soaps actually increased the frequencies of fevers, runny noses, and coughs. The antibiotic chemicals are not proving to be the best solution to keep us healthy and while antimicrobials in hospital furnishings may be a solution there is still a need to prove the “efficacious in reducing HAIs…” The best solution to reduce AR is “to prevent their development in the first place.” In Europe, Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands have banned the use of antibiotics as growth promoters. They have also invested in research, track the usage, and have services to support the farmers. In the US the FDA has developed a Voluntary Guidance for this problem to resolve on its own. While there has been some success, drugs are still being given to healthy animals for other reasons. Antibiotics were approved to be sold over the counter and the use is at the farmers' discretion without veterinary oversight. The use of antibiotics in livestock is a great public health concern and many health associations support a legislation introduced to Congress and the Senate, Preservation of Antibiotic for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA) and Prevention of Antibiotic Resistance Act (PARA).






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