Misuse of Antibiotics

Featured

Food Animal Transport: A potential source of community exposures to health hazards from industrial farming (CAFOs)

Published by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, this article describes a study of air and surface samples collected from vehicles traveling behind trucks carrying broiler chickens in crates from factory farms to slaughterhouses. Researchers found that these samples contained an increased number of total aerobic bacteria including both susceptible and antibiotic-resistant enterococci. The study suggests that food animal transport in open crates can expose humans to harmful microorganisms and may disseminate these pathogens into the general environment. (Journal of Infection and Public Health. August 2008.)

Keep Antibiotics Working: The Campaign to End Antibiotic Overuse

A coalition of concerned health, consumer, environmental and agricultural groups working to reduce the overuse and misuse of antibiotics in animal agriculture. The site contains an extensive collection of reports about issues related to antibiotics resistance. Watch KAW’s short movie about antibiotics and factory farms.

Human Health and Industrial Farming

Produced by the Pew Campaign on Health and Industrial Farming, this website was created to bolster the efforts of the numerous public health organizations working to protect human health by eliminating the misuse of antibiotics in food animals. The site includes reports, factsheets, and a useful overview of the issue of antibiotic resistance.

Organizations

Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics (APUA)

APUA works to improve antimicrobial policy and clinical practices worldwide in order to control antimicrobial resistance and strengthen society’s defenses against infectious diseases.

IATP’s Antibiotics Listserv

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy provides a huge selection of email listservs that provide updated information and links to newspaper and journal articles. You can search the archives online.

ROAR – Reservoirs of Antibiotic Resistance Network – Selected Bibliography

A scientifically oriented selection of titles for resistance gene ecology and regulatory issues.

Union of Concerned Scientists

UCS’s Food and Environment Program’s newest project focuses on reducing the use of antibiotics in food animals. Working in concert with environmental, public health, and other organizations, they strive to put the issue of the misuse of antibiotics in animal agriculture in the national spotlight.

General Resources

AMA Passes Resolution Opposing Antibiotic Use

Doctors from the American Medical Association voice their opposition to the use of antibiotics on healthy farm animals. (June, 2001.)

Losing the Battle of the Bugs

Common bacteria are now so resistant to antibiotics that they can kill. We have no one to blame but ourselves. Available for $2.95. (US News and World Report – Cover Story, May 5, 1999.)

Emerging Infections — Another Warning

Almost 10 years ago, a group of distinguished scientists and policymakers began meeting at the offices of the Institute of Medicine in Washington, D.C., to consider the implications of the changing world of infectious diseases. (New England Journal of Medicine, April 2000.)

Use of Modified Cipro in Chickens: Another Threat to Public Health

Synopsis of this important new issue, and how it could compromise our ability to treat Anthrax. (Environmental Defense, October 2001.)

Reports

Agricultural Antibiotics and Resistance in Human Pathogens: Villain or Scapegoat?

Paper from the Canadian Medical Association, calling for Canada to follow Sweden’s lead in banning the use of antibiotics for livestock growth promotion. (November 1998.)

Agricultural Use of Antibiotics and the Evolution and Transfer of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

Paper from the Canadian Medical Association reviewing the trends in antibiotic use and its potential impacts. (November 1998.)

Airborne Antibiotic Resistant and Non resistant Bacteria and Fungi Recovered from Two Swine Herd Confined Animal Feeding Operations

Antibiotic-resistant organisms known to have adverse human health effects were released from the facilities and recovered both inside and downwind of the facility. People near these facilities could potentially be exposed to resistant forms of bacteria. (Shawn Gibbs, Christopher Green, Patrick Tarwater, Pasquale Scarpino, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, November 2004.)

Antibiotic Uptake by Plants from Soil Fertilized with Animal Manure

This University of Minnesota study revealed that plants grown in soils fertilized with manure can absorb certain antibiotics present in the manure. This suggests existence of potential human health risks associated with consumption of fresh vegetables grown in soil treated with antibiotic laden manures. (Journal of Environmental Quality. Vol. 34. p2082-2085. October 2005.)

Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria from the New England Journal of Medicine

These three articles highlight the ubiquity and hardiness of antibiotic-resistant strains of salmonella that are linked to feedlot meats. As many as half of meat products examined in retail markets contain salmonella, and the majority of strains have become resistant to at least one antibiotic.

Antibiotic Resistance: What is the Impact of Agricultural Uses of Antibiotics on Children’s Health?

Discussion of risks of agricultural antibiotic use and evidence of resistance, particularly in children. (Pediatrics. Vol. 112 No. 1 July 2003, pp. 253-258.)

Antibiotics in Dust Originating from a Pig Fattening Farm: A New Source of Health Hazard for Farmers?

A 20-year study that discovered traces of five different antibiotics in the dust in pig barns. This paper goes a long way toward proving that antibiotics are escaping factory farm facilities since the dust tested over the course of the study is also in the air and thus is getting sucked out of the barn by the fans. Full version is available only to subscribers. (The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, June 2003.)

Antimicrobial Growth Promoters and Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp. in Poultry and Swine, Denmark

The use of antimicrobial growth promoters in Danish food animal production was discontinued in 1998. Contrary to concerns that pathogen load would increase, a significant decrease in Salmonella was found in broilers, swine, pork, and chicken meat and no change in the prevalence of Campylobacter in broilers. (Evans MC, Wegener HC, Emerging Infectious Diseases. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, April 2003.)

Ceftriaxone-Resistant Salmonella Infection Acquired by a Child from Cattle

This study provides evidence that antibiotic-resistant strains of salmonella in the US evolve primarily in livestock. Available to subscribers or for a one-time fee. (New England Journal of Medicine, April 27, 2000.)

Risk Assessment on the Human Health Impact of Fluoroquinolone Resistant Campylobacter Associated with the Consumption of Chicken

The Center for Veterinary Medicine prepared a risk assessment concerning fluoroquinolone-resistance in Campylobacter found in poultry. (Food & Drug Administration, Revised January 2001.)

Drug-Resistant Bacteria on Poultry Products Differ by Brand

The presence of drug-resistant, pathogenic bacteria on uncooked poultry products varies by commercial brand and is likely related to antibiotic use in production, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Their study is the first to directly compare bacterial contamination of poultry products sold in US supermarkets from food producers who use antibiotics to poultry products from producers who claim they do not. (Environmental Health Perspectives, May 2005.)

Environmental Occurrence of Antibiotics in Dairy Farming

A presentation of an analysis of the use of antibiotics in dairy farms, and the environmental impacts of this practice. Using two California dairy farms as study sites, researchers detected pharmaceuticals in groundwater adjacent to manure lagoons, in groundwater beneath fields on which manure was applied, in surface soil samples, and in deeper soil samples. (2008 Joint Meeting of the Geological Society of America, Soil Science Society of America, American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies with the Gulf Coast Section of SEPM, 2008.)

Economic Impact of a Ban on the Use of Over-the-Counter Antibiotics in US Swine Rations

Considers the economic effects of a ban on antibiotics in pork production, with no change in regulation of other meats. Antibiotic drugs are currently used in 90 percent of starter feeds, 75 percent of grower feeds, more than 50 percent of finishing feeds and at least 20 percent of sow feeds. (Iowa State University, December 1999.)

Effect of the Use of Antimicrobials in Food-Producing Animals on Pathogen Load: Systematic Review of the Published Literature

Examines the suggested benefits associated with the use of antibiotics in food-producing animals as well as the possibility that use of antibiotics in food animals will contribute to antibiotic resistant disease in humans. (US FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine. October 2000.)

Emergence of Multidrug-Resistant Salmonella

A multidrug-resistant strain of salmonella has become a widespread pathogen in the US. More prudent use of antimicrobial agents in farm animals and more effective disease prevention on farms is necessary. (New England Journal of Medicine. May 1999.)

Food Animal Transport: A potential source of community exposures to health hazards from industrial farming (CAFOs)

The Hidden Costs of Animal Factories

This article looks at the harm to human health from increased use of antibiotics in confined livestock operations. (Peter Montague, Rachel’s Environment & Health News. March 2000.)

Hogging It: Estimates of Antimicrobial Abuse in Livestock

Every year in the US, 25 million pounds of valuable antibiotics – roughly 70 percent of total US antibiotic production – are fed to chickens, pigs, and cows. (Union of Concerned Scientists, January 2001.)

Identification of Multidrug-Resistant Salmonella

A strain of Salmonella enterica serotype Newport, resistant to eight drugs, was recently identified by the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an example of the emergent problem of antibiotic resistance. (Fontana J, Stout A, Bolstorff B, Timperi R, Emerging Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, April 2003.)

Isolation of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria from the Air Plume Downwind of a Swine Confined or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation

This study evaluated the levels of antibiotic- and multidrug-resistant bacteria in bioaerosols upwind, within, and downwind of a swine confined animal feeding operation. (Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 114, Number 7, July 2006.)

The Isolation of Antibiotic-Resistant Salmonella from Retail Ground Meats

White D. G., Zhao S., Sudler R., Ayers S., Friedman S., Chen S., McDermott P. F., McDermott S., Wagner D. D., Meng J. New England Journal of Medicine 2001; 345:1147-1154, Oct 2001. [Abstract] [Full Text]

Microbial Threats to Health: Emergence, Detection, and Response

This report calls for a ban on the use of antimicrobials for growth promotion in food animals if those classes of antimicrobials are also used in humans, among other recommendations. Several studies linking the use of human antimicrobials in food animals as a cause of resistant microbes on fresh meat are cited to justify the report’s recommendations. (National Academies of Sciences, 2003.)

NPR Special Report: “How Safe is the Food Supply?”

Subtitled “Antibiotics on the Farm, Allergies and Home Cooking Dangers,” this 4-part special ran in August 2001. If you missed the show, you can listen here or order a transcript from NPR.

Overuse of Antibiotics in Animal Agriculture

Talking points and recent research about the air and water quality impacts of antibiotic use in animal agriculture. (July 2005.)

The Potential Role of CAFOs in Infectious Disease Epidemics and Antibiotic Resistance

This scientific workgroup report describes the risk posed by nontherapeutic use of antimicrobial growth promoters on factory farms, concluding that the practice should be discontinued in order to protect public health. (Environmental Health Perspectives, November 2006.)

Presence of Multidrug-Resistant Enteric Bacteria in Dairy Farm Topsoil

Uncontrolled use of antibiotics in medicine and in farm animals has led to the selection of multidrug-resistant bacteria in humans and cattle. Consequently, enteric bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, and Salmonella spp. are not only resistant to multiple antibiotics given to animals, but also to antibiotics made available to humans. Regarding agriculture in particular, if humans come in direct contact with infected fecal matter, transmission of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is possible. Consequently, antibiotic resistance genes, if transferred to human microflora, may reduce efficacy of treatment for infectious diseases. (American Dairy Science Association, 2005.)

Quinupristin-Dalfopristin-Resistant Enterococcus faecium on Chicken and in Human Stool Specimens

McDonald L. C., Rossiter S., Mackinson C., Wang Y. Y., Johnson S., Sullivan M., Sokolow R., DeBess E., Gilbert L., Benson J. A., Hill B., Angulo F. J. New England Journal of Medicine 2001; 345:1155-1160, Oct 2001. [Abstract] [Full Text]

Recent Research on Antibiotic Resistance and Animal Agriculture

Recent research about airborne and waterborne antibiotic-resistant bacteria and concentrated animal feeding operations. Studies reviewing the levels of airborne antibiotic-resistant pathogens in human habitats downwind of animal confinement facilities and the potential aerial transfer of antibiotic resistance to humans and the environment. Additional research on the danger of pig house dust to farmers and the evolution of antibiotic-resistant genes generated on farms and propagated in the environment through groundwater. (July 2005.)

The Risk of the Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome after Antibiotic Treatment of Escherichia coli O157:H7 Infections

Children with gastrointestinal infections caused by Escherichia coli O157:H7 are at risk for hemolytic-uremic syndrome. Sulfa-based antibiotics not only didn’t work in this study, but seemed to increase the risk of hemolytic-uremic syndrome, which is characterized by symptoms such as vomiting, fever, diarrhea, organ dysfunction or failure, and is believed to be caused by Shiga toxins elaborated by E. coli. (New England Journal of Medicine, May 2000.)

Superbugs on the Hoof?

Disturbing new findings have provided a key link in the chain of evidence connecting antibiotics used on livestock to outbreaks of disease caused by antibiotic-resistant human pathogens. Now agencies worldwide are beginning to clamp down on antibiotic use in agriculture. (Dan Ferber, Science Online, May 2000. Subscription required – $5 charge to download.)

Transient Intestinal Carriage after Ingestion of Antibiotic-Resistant Enterococcus faecium from Chicken and Pork

Sørensen T. L., Blom M., Monnet D. L., Frimodt-Møller N., Poulsen R. L., Espersen F. New England Journal of Medicine 2001; 345 no 16. p. 1161-1166, Oct 2001. [Abstract] [Full Text]

The Use of Antibiotics in Food-Producing Animals: Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in Animals and Humans

In response to bacterial resistance to antibiotics (which can occur through the use and overuse of antibiotics), the Minister for Health and Aged Care and the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry jointly established a Joint Expert Technical Advisory Committee on Antibiotic Resistance (JETACAR) in 1998 and produced this report. (Department of Agriculture, Australia, October 1999.)

When Wonder Drugs Don’t Work: How Antibiotic Resistance Threatens Children, Seniors, and the Medically Vulnerable

How and why the growing threat of antibiotics-resistant infections threatens these groups more than others, and what we can do about it. (Environmental Defense, December 2001.)