Drug-Resistance Goes Traveling

07:34 PM ET 05/19/99

Study: Antibiotic Resistance Growing

 Study: Antibiotic Resistance Growing
 By BRIGITTE GREENBERG=
 Associated Press Writer=
 	   Jet-setting Americans who eat chicken and meat overseas are
 bringing back resistance to certain antibiotics used to treat
 stomach upset and other bacterial illnesses, according to a study.
 	   The study, published in Thursday's New England Journal of
 Medicine, is the first to link Americans' growing resistance to
 antibiotics primarily to foreign travel. Until now, scientists
 believed resistance was growing largely because doctors were
 overprescribing antibiotics.
 	   Resistance to the class of antibiotics called quinolones has
 been reported in people in Europe and Asia because of the
 widespread use of antibiotics in poultry and other livestock there,
 but the problem had not been well-documented in the United States.
 	   The study also attributed the problem in part to the growing use
 of antibiotics in chickens in the United States. The Food and Drug
 Administration approved the practice in 1995.
 	   ``There is definitely a public health problem with using
 quinolones in poultry, and we need to take a hard look at that,''
 said the study's lead author, Kirk E. Smith, an epidemiologist with
 the Minnesota Health Department.
 	   Smith said the study should prompt the FDA to adopt more
 stringent guidelines for the use of antibiotics in food animals in
 this country. But he said solving the problem ``is going to take a
 very well-coordinated international effort.''
 	   A spokesman for the Washington-based Animal Health Institute,
 which represents producers of health products used in food animals,
 said antibiotics are used sparingly on domestic livestock _ at most
 3 percent of poultry _ and only when prescribed by a veterinarian.
 	   What's more, he said, it's possible people are being exposed to
 antibiotics through other means besides chicken while overseas,
 like water, for example.
 	   ``What we don't know is the relative level of risk from
 contaminated water, animal use, too many prescriptions. We need to
 have some connection,'' said spokesman John Keeling.
 	   Here's how researchers believe the problem goes from animals to
 humans:
 	   Chickens and other livestock are given antibiotics in feed and
 drinking water to ward off infections and spur growth. A
 corkscrew-shaped type of bacteria that normally lives in the
 intestines of the animal becomes resistant to the antibiotics over
 time.
 	   Even after animals go to meat-processing plants, some meat can
 remain contaminated with the resistant bacteria. Humans swallow the
 bacteria if the meat is undercooked or contaminates other foods
 during meal preparation.
 	   The bacteria bring on gastroenteritis _ that is, diarrhea,
 stomach cramps, fever and malaise. Doctors try to treat the illness
 with antibiotics, but the bacteria have already built up
 resistance, so it's tougher to get rid of.
 	   The latest research examined 4,953 cases of bacterial infection
 among Minnesota residents between 1992 and 1998. The scientists
 found that the proportion of cases resistant to antibiotic
 treatment increased from 1.3 percent in 1992 to 10.2 percent in
 1998.
 	   Patients answered a standardized survey that included questions
 about antibiotic use, foods eaten, contact with animals and their
 travels. The scientists attributed 75 percent of the cases to
 foreign travel, especially to Mexico and especially in winter.
 	   In an accompanying editorial, Henrik C. Wegener of the Danish
 Zoonosis Center said physicians and veterinarians should be careful
 not to overprescribe antibiotics.
 	   ``Increasing foreign travel and the internationalization of the
 food trade make the use of antibiotics in food production a public
 health issue of global dimensions,'' Wegener said.
Back to Main GSE Info Page

send email to:
NutriTeam, Inc.
Click Here for Cart, GSE Pricing, Sizes, Secure Ordering
or call: 802 388-0661, 815 377-2198(fax) or toll-free 800 785-9791 top of page