Animal Antibiotic Overuse Hurting Humans?

Katie Couric Investigates Feeding Healthy Farm Animals Antibiotics. Is it Creating New Drug-Resistant Bacteria?

(CBS)  "It's scary, I mean, you just can't describe it really," said Bill Reeves.

Two years ago, 46-year-old Bill Reeves, who worked at a poultry processing plant in Batesville, Arkansas, developed a lump under his right eye.

"It went from about the size of a mosquito bite to about the size of a grapefruit," he said.

CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric reports doctors tried several drugs that usually work on this potentially deadly infection: methicillin resistant staph or MRSA - before one saved his life.

WebMD: MSRA

"You go from a just regular day to knowing you may die in a couple of hours," Reeves said.

He wasn't the only worker from this farming community to get sick. Joyce Long worked at the hatchery, handling eggs and chicks. She got MRSA at least a dozen times, and had to try several drugs as well.

"It was real painful. Shots don't help, because it's so infected, it don't help much," she said.

Within weeks, 37 people at the hatchery got sick. They've filed personal injury claims against the company, Pilgrims Pride, which has no comment.

This is not an isolated incident and chickens aren't the only concern. A University of Iowa study last year, found a new strain of MRSA -- in nearly three-quarters of hogs (70 percent), and nearly two-thirds of the workers (64 percent) -- on several farms in Iowa and Western Illinois. All of them use antibiotics, routinely. On antibiotic-free farms no MRSA was found.

Health officials are concerned if workers who handle animals are getting sick - what about the rest of us? Drug resistant infections have sky-rocketed over the past two decades, killing an estimated 70,000 Americans last year alone. It's an emerging health crisis that scientists say is caused not only by the overuse of antibiotics in humans, but in livestock as well. Antibiotics fed to healthy animals to promote growth and prevent disease.

"My fear is that one of these days we are going to have an organism that's resistant to everything that we know, and we'll be left powerless," said Thomas Cummins, Batesville's chief medical officer.

"There are a lot of concerns about antibiotics being added to animal feeds that may be contributing to MRSA as well as other antibiotic resistance," Cummins said. "Certainly the more bacteria are exposed to antibiotics in any shape or form, the more tendency there is for resistance."

There are different types of drug-resistant bacteria. Some, like e coli and salmonella, can be passed on to people by consuming undercooked meat and poultry. Now, scientists are worried that Americans may be acquiring drug-resistant MRSA - not from eating, but from handling tainted meat from animals that were given antibiotics.

Evidence of MRSA has been found in the nation's meat supply. But it's unclear how widespread it may be, because only a small fraction is tested for MRSA.

Shelley Hearne has studied the health effects of factory farming for 25 years.

Pew Campaign On Human Health and Industrial Farming

"How does this go from the farm to the meat counter, to having an adverse effect on humans," Couric asked.

"If the bacteria becomes resistant to antibiotics, it can actually spread in many ways," Hearne said. "It could be in the food supply, but it also can be in waters that runoff in a farm. It could be in the air. It can happen very quickly in many different ways. It's why it's a practice that has to stop on the farms."

That practice occurs inside factory farms, where antibiotics help animals absorb and process food so they grow bigger, faster - a selling point pushed by the pharmaceutical industry. Because animals are packed into confinement pens, antibiotics are also used to keep disease from spreading like wildfire.

Liz Wagstrom is a veterinarian with the National Pork Board.

More from the pork and beef industry
National Pork Producers Council
National Pork Board's Facts About Pork
National Cattlemen's Beef Association

"Some people say giving animals antibiotics to prevent illness or promote growth is like putting antibiotics in a child's cereal," Couric said. "You know, save them so they'll work when they are needed."

"I'd say we do strategically place them," Wagstrom replied. "It's not an all day, every pig gets antibiotics every day of his life."

"So you don't think they're being overused by farmers anywhere in this country," Couric asked.

Wagstrom replied, "the vast majority of producers use them appropriately."

But drug distributers and dozens of farm workers in four farm belt states -Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma - told us antibiotic use to promote growth is widespread on factory farms.

Rep. Slaughter's "Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act"

Former hog worker, Kim Howland took CBS News inside a factory farm in Oklahoma where she worked two years ago.

"They administer drugs, you know, constantly, constantly, constantly," Howland said. "That's their fix for everything.

She said drugs like Tylan, Keflex, and Baytril, the same classes used to treat everything from skin to respiratory infections in humans - were given regularly to pigs that were not sick.

Her husband contracted MRSA and almost died.

"My conclusion was that I had carried it home," she said.

Dave Kronlage of Dyersville, Iowa says he uses antibiotics to accelerate growth and fend off disease. But, he says, he does so responsibly.

"You never worry about giving them antibiotics and having them develop bacterial disease that may be some sort of superbug for these animals," Couric asked.

"No. No," Kronlage replied.

"How do you prevent that from happening," Couric asked.

"We don't always use the same antibiotics for one thing," Kronlage replied.

Antibiotics, he says, keep the cost of meat at the supermarket lower - and his profits higher.

"Why do you think antibiotics are so necessary for your bottom line," Couric asked.

"Well, because the bottom line is how healthy you keep those pigs," Kronlage said. "The healthier those pigs are -- the bottom line looks better."

Find Locally Grown, Sustainable Food Near You

But the bottom line on antibiotic use in factory farming is this: no one is really monitoring it.

Joshua Sharfstein, is the deputy director of the FDA.

"We want to put in place measures to reduce inappropriate use and we want to see that those are working - in order to do that we have to have a good surveillance system," Sharfstein said. "There's no question that needs to be improved."

"I loved hog farming. And I miss it. I wish I could go back," Kim Howland said. "But until the walls come down and the roofs come off, there's no chance."

[howard05]

Nursing organizations nationwide have expressed their opposition to non-therapeutic use of medically important antibiotics by supporting the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (S. 619/H.R. 1549.

This opposition is based on the increase in antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance continues to be a growing problem in the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) roughly 2 million patients get an infection in a hospital, and about 90,000 of those patients die as a result of that infection.

Get involved today - go to the Health Care Without Harm's Protect Antibiotics Toolkit at http://www.noharm.org/us_canada/nurses/protect_antibiotics.php

This topic is important for the improvement of human and animal health. Also, check out a few videos made by Registered Nurses concerned about the increasing use of antibiotics and hormones in our livestock.

Go to Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6pDvnoT_l0

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sicQXOhXpUU

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbvfJYRkg2k

[postmancbs]

Mr. rkd182,

Actually we do agree I simply havent brought my point from left field back to home.

You are actually correct, the MRSA in the pigs ST398 is the blame of healthcare and the estimated deaths I would be shocked if they were accurate and not sensationalized. It would make MRSA one of the leading cause of death. So the Industry got a black eye, at least it is alerted to the fact that the neglect of healthcare can and will effect their bottom line. C-diff, is a new emergent superbug, it will mutate and at some point affect the industry, they have no clue. If they challenge the attitude towards MRSA then they will at least recognize the approaching threat. By then, MRSA will have attained the status of a weapons grade biohazard. Yes I am not concerned that the half life of regulated antibiotics is subverted in processing. I am concerned not enough attention is paid to the bacteria and its pathology whether it is in the meat counter or the Operating Room. As far as prodding your indignation I needed you to bring your "A" game. In your career you may actually remember this exchange, and be a better Doctor for it.

[postmancbs]

Mr.rkd182,

That would be William of Ockham (c. 1287-1347) the modern day colloquialism KISS, keep it simple stupid. I figured you would go after spelling right off the bat and you were republican so I baited you. Now you will complain, No I didnt bite that! The BET was that the DNA of the MRSA would be tracked back to the factory farm.

I wont take your money as you will need it to repeat the course, try try again.

(YQ)I will reiterate your claim as an erroneous statement due to the fact that there are several types of antibiotics as I?m sure you are aware. The drug-resistant infections referred to here have little, to no, relationship to any antibiotic use in animal agriculture. So you are say there are antibiotics the FDA has not announced the agriculture is using? (error 2) (YQ)The types of drug-resistant infections that are lethal are often associated with hospital-acquired infections ? and the antibiotic used in those facilities. That means humans. Try and apply KISS not JPS (just plain stupid). You are out of errors but we will continue to demonstrate the depth BIG AG influences the minds being molded. Actually BIG AG worries me less than BIG MED.

MOST revealing is you totally ignore the challenge that there is no innoculation. So the bacteria can infest an entire farm due to lack of a proven standard of isolation.

(YQ)But, when someone attempts to devalue, discredit, and slander the education I have worked so hard to get, it deeply offends me. Cant blame that on me, you did it all by yourself.

Your rebuttal of my challenge to name the three types MRSA was feeble at best, considering I give you the reference to ATCC a guardian and safeguard for public health.

AS far as the ENDORSEMENT of an industry association for the promotion of that same industry. You are sucking up before you have even cut your teeth.

Only thing CBS did wrong is fail to recognize the prophecy which was the actual theme of the story.

[rkd182]

Any animal found sick is, of course, isolated from the rest. Why would a farmer want to risk the safety of the rest of his animals? Every farmer has a protocol for dealing with sick animals so there is no need to discuss inoculation. Look, we obviously dont see eye to eye on anything. You can't even agree with statements from experts in that area so anything I say you will discredit to your liking. I cant argue with someone who only uses opinion for the basis of an argument (I took philosophy too, you know). You have given no facts, only pure speculation. You use the term erroneous loosely, and you have tried to peg me as a republican...nice try.
You dont think its odd that you will fuss and fight when tetracycline is used for a week on a farm but say nothing when a human doctor prescribes it for 6 months for a teenager's acne? Im sorry but the fault lies with the human doctors who use antibiotics like candy (I know not every doctor is like this).
You say my attempts are feeble, maybe to you. You say I haven't even cut my teeth? I ask you to explain the closure of a ductus arteriosus in a newborn. Why dont you give me your extensive farming experience... it must be so easy to sit back and have no regard for those that pour their heart and soul into what they do.
I can't change your mind, you cant prove me wrong. I call it a stalemate. If trivial spellings (Auckam?if you prefer) and the word "erroneous" is all you have because you cant look things up for yourself unless they agree with you, then I?m at a loss. You BELIEVE WHAT YOU WANT, BUT KNOWLEDGE IS THE BEST DEFENSE AGAINST INDOCTRINATION.

[postmancbs]

Due to are rather strange "glitch" I will repost.

MR.rkd182,

Antibiotics are the direct cause of the "R" in MRSA, resistant. DOH!? (try not to make more than 3 erroneous statements in a reply) MRSA is recognized as a contagious pathogen unique to the genus mammalia (cornell). ?Transmission includes airbourne (Acanthamoeba). You fail to announce there is an innoculant. YQ=quoting you. (YQ)Also, strain 398 does not transmit as easily. You fail to rule out transmission (see ?). (YQ) What I'm trying to say is that MRSA is everywhere and there are 3 types of it. Please name them(if you need help google ATCC). (YQ) It is quite possible that these people are infected with a different type(Auckum's Razor). (YQ)This strain has not been found in human disease surveillance(reference ATCC).(YQ)It's much more likely these people had the very common community-acquired strain of MRSA from being in close contact with infected people. Since the genome sequence is complete it can be tracked back to the vector. Care to bet next years tutition as it isnt doing you any good. (HEY! CBS! you could DNA the guy, That would be good for another SPECIAL!).
_
Mr.rkd182 you will handle hundreds of animals of owners who have some of the most virulent strains of MRSA. These animals are colonized and carriers just like the pigs. You will be colonized with dozens of strains. In fact you probably already are.
_
Mr.rkd182, Perhaps you should run your next reply by your professor as to limit your erroneous statements to just 3.

[rkd182]

First off, I?ll take the Occam?s Razor bit as a compliment since it is the easiest explanation.
I would also love to bet next year?s tuition on the matter this story pertains to as I will take what a board-certified pathologist, the USDA, and the AVMA says over CBS any day.
Next, I will reiterate your claim as an erroneous statement due to the fact that there are several types of antibiotics as I?m sure you are aware. The drug-resistant infections referred to here have little, to no, relationship to any antibiotic use in animal agriculture. The types of drug-resistant infections that are lethal are often associated with hospital-acquired infections ? and the antibiotic used in those facilities. That means humans.

You must also understand that antibiotics are used strategically and responsibly in order to keep resistance down. This is one of the hallmarks of the Pork Quality Assurance Plan that was started in 1989 (google it!). We have been using antibiotics in animals for roughly 50 years now and have managed to keep drug resistance at bay. This is why I said if there was going to be any epidemic, it would have happened by now.

Vogel told the committee that the Food & Drug Administration's evaluations of antibiotics used in livestock are more stringent than for human antibiotics. The FDA evaluates each food animal antibiotic for human, environmental and animal safety, and additionally, public and private surveillance systems monitor the use of the drugs for the emergence of antibiotic resistance. - Dr. Lyle P. Vogel, AVMA's assistant executive vice president

If the U.S. chooses to go the way of Denmark and the rest of Europe, we may suffer similar consequences. Since their ban on antibiotic use, Denmark has seen a 10 fold increase in MRSA (their largest in history) as well as a formidable salmonella outbreak. They have even gone so far as to use zinc in an attempt to curb the incidence of diarrhea in young pigs.

You also wanted the 3 types of MRSA?
1) Virulent forms of MRSA are a serious human health problem. These forms are most commonly found in healthcare settings such as hospitals, dialysis centers and long-term care facilities and are often referred to as healthcare- or hospital-acquired. They can cause serious, invasive illness and even death, particularly in people with weakened immune systems.
2) There are less virulent forms of MRSA commonly found throughout the general population (25-50 percent of people) that are also found in cats, dogs, horses and other animals. These are typically referred to as community-acquired forms and are often linked to shared areas, such as locker rooms.
3) A third form that is less invasive than the healthcare-associated form has been recently identified in European, Asian and North American swine farms. This livestock form (strain 398) does not transmit as easily between people as the other types. It has been found in some people who have close contact with livestock (pigs, calves, and poultry), although there is no data to indicate that these people have a higher-than-normal illness rate. However, it?s much more likely these people had the very common community-acquired strain of MRSA from being in close contact with infected people ? not animals.
By the way, you?re probably right about the possibility of having MRSA since I just worked a livestock show last night! (I liked that one!) But at least we did have to get a rabies series before school.

CBS also fails to mention that the study they used was only a 300 pig pilot study. The study that went unreported by CBS found conventional farms with MRSA rates in pigs of 23 percent, not 70 percent. Both of these studies were done by the University of Iowa mind you.

If you want to know where I got my info, go to porkmag.com or avma.org which is the official site of the American Veterinary Medical Association. Maybe you can try and argue them as it seems I am not as eloquent in expressing my view and they are far more knowledgeable than I am.
There is also a greater issue at hand. I am willing to listen to anything you have to say, and I think it is important for the people that read this site that we do what we are doing. But, when someone attempts to devalue, discredit, and slander the education I have worked so hard to get, it deeply offends me. If you choose to go that route, I will end the conversation here. As a future veterinarian, I have taken an oath of which I am ethically charged to promote public health as well protecting animal health and welfare.

Mr. postmancbs? I encourage you to do the same.

[postmancbs]

Okay folks rkd182 points out methicillin is not used on animals. Yes he/she is correct as it is no longer manufactured. Doh! Then admits an epidemic of MRSA in food animals. The specific strain is ST398. It worries me that this student is oblivous to the fact there is no innoculation.

[rkd182]

I say this because the MRSA is not being caused by excessive use of antibiotics. Doh!

[rkd182]

I say this because the MRSA is not being caused by excessive use of antibiotics. The antibiotics used in swine are not associated with the development of MRSA. Doh! (I feel like I have to say that) There is also NOT an "epidemic" because MRSA is not recognized as a food-borne illness, thus testing meat is unnecessary. The CDC and the European Food Safety Authority agree that the risk of MRSA from handling or eating meat is very low. THERE IS NO EPIDEMIC! Doh!
Also, strain 398 does not transmit as easily between people as the other types. It has been found in some people who have close contact with livestock (pigs, calves, and poultry), although there is no data to indicate that these people have a higher-than-normal illness rate.
What I'm trying to say is that MRSA is everywhere and there are 3 types of it... it is quite possible that these people are infected with a different type. This strain has not been found in human disease surveillance for MRSA conducted by either the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the University of Iowa hospitals. It is very unlikely that the people interviewed for the CBS story had livestock-associated MRSA. However, it?s much more likely these people had the very common community-acquired strain of MRSA from being in close contact with infected people ? not animals. MRSA is present on many pets and animals and it is wrong to blame it on pork production practices.
I cannot explain how frustrating this is... I know i sound angry but I see the facts ignored by the story. When I have a professor come into my class and say, "Every one of you should be able to tell me what is wrong with this story," it is extremely frustrating. I feel like I have to stand up for the side that was never voiced.
And I'm a guy...

[rkd182]

This is absolutely ridiculous. As a current veterinary student deeply entrenched in matters such as these, I can't help but voice my disgust for the lack of responsibility shown in this report. Does it ever occur to anyone that methicillin is not used in animals and therefore could not be attrributed to the development of MRSA? Antibiotic use is one of the most carefully watched aspects of a production herd and to think that farmers are just shooting up their animals is ridiculous. I could go on and on, but if you want real facts or at least the other side check this out...
http://www.porkmag.com/directories.asp?pgID=675&ed_id=8861
And people please stop speaking as if Europe is so far ahead of us in food safety! Countries that have banned growth promotion uses of antibiotics, such as Denmark, have similar levels of MRSA in their livestock herds. Additionally, Denmark has been struggling with a major outbreak of human MRSA as well as recently getting over one of the worst outbreaks of salmonella in their history due to this.
I beg that CBS tries to be more responsible and stop this sensationalist type of journalism because it doesn't help anyone but their ratings and pockets. CBS doesn't care about you or me... just headlines.

[ddcarp]

It is very hard to take those of you seriously who post your comments like you are texting a friend. If you want to sound intelligent, write like you are submitting your comments to a potential employer. I work in the arena of agricultural conservation and as such have a lot of contact with ag producers. I have been on their farms and in their homes. As in any profession, there are folks who only care about their wallets, but the majority of producers I have worked with are decent people who care about the welfare of their animals and their families. They work very hard and live on the financial edge of ruin a lot of the time. A previous comment posted mentioned the enormous losses that the hog farms are struggling with at this time - dairy farms are also going under at an alarming rate. How much do you want to pay for your meat and milk? In reality, what is good for the goose is good for the gander. The public needs to remember that their fortunes (and the lot of humanity in general)are tied tightly to the ability of our agricultural producers to produce enough food to feed the burgeoning human population. Want to help save the planet? Have small families and consider adoption instead of producing more mouths to feed. Farmers have a huge responsibility to feed the world and we do it very well here in the U.S. I wish the media and the public in general would stop trying to vilify our farmers and try truly educating themselves instead of looking for a juicy story. When is the last time you set foot on a working farm, talked to a producer about his operation, or attended an Ag Days event? Here's a story idea for CBS - hard working, tax paying, permit holding, state licensed, down-to-earth, community involved family man who also happens to be a hog farmer attacked by deep-pocketed media and special interest groups: multi-generational family farm facing foreclosure, children losing their inheritance on the auction block.

[samas1943]

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Katie for bringing us this important story. Sixty Minutes used to do this kind of reporting, but not anymore. We're living in a desert of celebrity scandal, thirsty for vital news. Viewers can now make informed choices about their diet. And, many are choosing to go meatless. It helps them and the animals.

[ddcarp]

I agree about the lack of "real news", but I think this was just another sensationalist, one-sided story to garner ratings. Viewers have always been able to make informed choices about their diets but instead choose to completely disconnect from the farms where their food comes from and pretend that food comes from a sterile grocery store instead. Farmers are not the bad guys, people. Of all the professions in the world, only a few are really necessary for the survival of the human species - farming is right at the top of the list. And by the way, **** sapiens is an omnivore, made to eat both meat and plant material. Our teeth, digestive systems, and nutritional needs are set up for the consumption of both. For a human to be a vegetarian flies in the face of nature herself.

[postmancbs]

dbogie,


_It is the likes of you that argue it is spin until you have to buy a LiL BiTTY CoFFIN, then you rail for a lynching.
_
perhaps you can grasp this concept,,,
_
http://superbugassassins.com/pages/12-Towersx.html

[dbogie]

that report on antibiotics in animals was very one sided. if you are going to report on a subject, please give equal time to both sides of the story. if you want to get to the real antibiotic problem in humans, report on over use of antibiotics by humans or how patients get these same illnesses from hospitals. no pigs, chickens or cattle there. i think there is another side to the health issues that you reported on. my mother ate very little meat and she died from sudamonus that she contracted in a hospital during an out patient procedure. should we ban hospitals? i think anyone who has issue with the manner in which a farmer runs his farm should not be allowed food, anyone who has issue with coal mining should have there electricity cut off. anyone who believes in global warming should have there car taken away and electicity turned off and no food since the include farmers in that sinario. use some common sense when putting out these scare tactic stories just to get fear mongers to watch. please don't prey on the unintelligent population. there are people out there that believe this propaganda. i hope you are not one of them. scientist, you can ask ten of them the same question and get 10 different answers.
when i was growing up the scientist said we were headed for an ice age. now we are going to burn up the planet. get the real story, all humans need to survive is food water and air. the government taxes food, water, electicity and now the have found a way to tax air. there is a real story. it's called global warming. the biggest scam and potential danger to the human race ever concieved by politicians and paid scientist to say what they want them too for just another tax to bale out over spending by their governments.