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Resistant Bacteria

People who work on chicken farms are more likely to suffer bacterial infections that don’t respond to antibiotics, a problem researchers believe may be linked to the low-levels of antibiotics often used in chicken feed.

Concerned about the growing number of antibiotic-resistant infections in humans in recent years, health groups such as the World Health Organization have called for a ban on antibiotics in chicken feed. But since poultry companies don’t have to reveal what’s in their feed – even to the workers exposed to it – it’s difficult to know who’s adhering to these guidelines.

Poultry growers mix antibiotics into water and feed to promote growth and fight disease. Researchers have long suspected that the use of antibiotics in animal feed was contributing to the widespread problem of drug-resistant illnesses in humans. Another major cause of this problem is the overuse of antibiotics to treat illnesses such as ear infections and flue.

Now scientists at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health have shown that people who handle live poultry carry bacteria as much as seven times more resistant to antibiotics than those who live in the communities surrounding the chicken farms, suggesting that direct contact with the animals and their feed makes them far more susceptible to health problems. Some workers also experienced increased neurological problems.

People who wish to purchase meat, including poultry, which comes from animals that have not been fed antibiotic-laden feed can easily do so. Many grocery stores now carry such products in their meat departments, but be sure to read the labels carefully. If antibiotics were not used, the label should say so specifically.

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For more information on antibiotic resistance in humans, its possible causes, and what you can do to help prevent it, please read the article in Science Daily or visit the FDA site.

To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to: www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org, or www.healthandenvironment.org