A report from the American Academy of Pediatricians warns against the use of antibiotics in feeding animals, as it breeds antibiotic-resistant bacteria, or "superbugs," giving kids hard to treat infections. The report is published in the journal Pediatrics.
“The antibiotics that are fed to the animals lead to the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria in the animal,” study co-author Dr. Theoklis Zaoutis of the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia told Reuters by email. “These bacteria can then be spread to other animals, the environment and to humans.”
Although the campaign against animal antibiotic use has been going for years, the message still isn't heard.
"The rise of antibiotic resistance is a global crisis. It's one of the greatest threats to health today. This makes a broad range of common infections much more difficult to treat, replacement treatment are more costly, more toxic, and require much longer periods of time for treatment," Dr. Margaret Chan, World Health Organization director-general, said in a news conference Monday as per NBC news.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that yearly, more than two million Americans get infected by antibiotic-resistant germs. Of these, around 23,000 die of infection. Treating these infections incur a massive cost, which the researchers estimate to be around $21 billion to $34 billion yearly.
Most infections were found to be highest among children under age five. Infants and children are affected by antibiotic-resistant bacteria found in the food supply, from direct contact with animals, and from exposure to the environment.
Such bacteria can also be transferred to foods like fruits and vegetables via cross-contamination.
"Animal feces can contaminate foods when manure containing resistant organisms is applied to agricultural soils and the organisms are then present in farm runoff. Cross-contamination of fruits and vegetables can occur when wastewater is used to irrigate crops, and fish raised in contaminated water can also be exposed," the researchers wrote in the report.
Timothy Landers, antibiotics researcher at Ohio State University in Columbus, told Reuters this means that even choosing to go organic does not guarantee the absence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
“From a farmer’s perspective, the use of antibiotics helps ensure that food is safe, nutritious and affordable,” Landers, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email. “What we have lacked is a coordinated, integrated approach to antibiotic resistance including experts on human health, food production animal health and the environment.”
Urvashi Rangan, executive director of the Consumer Reports Food Safety and Sustainability Center, suggests eating foods that are produced without using antibiotics.
“So is cooking our foods thoroughly,” he adds.
