Antibiotic Resistance

Routine antibiotic use at animal farms may be causing resistance in humans.
The Los Angeles Times (4/25, Adams) reports that, according to a study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, Staphylococcus aureus bacteria was found "on 47% of 136 samples of beef, chicken, pork and turkey from 26 grocery stores in five US cities" and that of "those bacteria, 96% were resistant to at least one type of antibiotic and more than half were resistant to at least three." The researchers concluded that the resistant staph was "probably coming from the animals -- and not, say, a worker's unclean hands. This seems to point the finger at antibiotic use in agriculture." Although calls for restrictions on antibiotics "used to combat human infectious disease, have come from a slew of organizations," including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Medical Association, "the practice remains."