Antibiotic Use In Livestock Raises Public Health Concern
By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a growing concern for communities and hospital settings - the message is that we are using the drugs too much and the bacteria are mutating in such a way that the drugs won't work.
Now, researchers in North Carolina suggest that we should be watching antibiotic use in livestock.
Industrial food-animal facilities, which involve intense confinement of animals and use antibiotics to promote growth have long been seen as a problem. The North Carolina study found that in companies where this technique was used, the incidence of bacteria resistant to common antibiotics went up significantly.
Clearly there is a need for tight regulation on this practice as a protective step for public health.
