From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2012-03-27 19:50:20 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] brand new article on antibiotic resistant bacteria and animal products such as meat, poultry, eggs, etc.
To: fhl <ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com>, FML List <ferret-l@LISTSERV.FERRETMAILINGLIST.ORG>
http://www.promedmail.org/
and click open
27 Mar 2012 Antibiotic use in animals - USA: court ruling
from the menu on your left
Just a few small quotes (and note that this misuse has facilitated abusive factory farm conditions instead of the better conditions traditionally found on family farms):
> The court noted that today there is finally enough evidence to prove that the dangers predicted by the FDA in 1977 have been realized, and that standing on the sidelines and waiting to see whether the meat industry can police itself on the use of antibiotics is no longer an option.
...
> conclusion drawn after the agency realized that food animals that have received antibiotics like penicillin end up acting as a "reservoir of antibiotic resistant pathogens and non-pathogens." The agency knew, and stated, in 1977 that this situation could lead to antibiotic resistance
> the use of antibiotics in meat production is leading to "superbugs"
> By feeding low levels of antibiotics to herd animals over a long period, they can keep those animals in more cramped, unsanitary conditions without the animals contracting disease.
End small quoted sections, and, please, do read the full article to learn more.
This topic has come up in the past. Please, see the FHL and FML Archives. Many of the pathogens can be avoided by careful cleaning of hands, utensils, cutting surfaces, etc. and cooking. The CDC site is an excellent place to confirm what internal temperatures can kill which pathogens. Do remember that some, like certain strains of E. coli, can produce toxins and not all of those toxins are broken down well enough with heat which is why meat that might contain ones like shiga toxin should preferably be discarded.
This topic in involved in both disease exposure discussions and discussions about when ferrets get infections that are resistant to treatment.
Another route to antibiotic resistant bacteria is when we engage in improper use of antibiotics. Antibiotics should not be taken when the disease that is present will not respond to antibiotics (like a human taking them during a cold unless the individual has a strong vulnerability to secondary bacterial infections). Antibiotics should never be started or stopped by people who do not have medical training without permission of medical experts such as the treating veterinarian or treating physician. If an incomplete course of antibiotics is taken then the surviving bacteria which are stronger will return in force and the situation will be worse. Yes, we humans have created a form of unnatural natural selection for bacteria, and things go best for us mammals rather than the bacteria when we instead manage to kill them off instead of being cavalier about antibiotic use. There is also an epigenetic effect found in some bacterial survivors, though it is achieved through a different mechanism than methylation. I recently read about new work on that but forget where, so if I find it later I will send it as a follow-up.
Another route to disease is eating food too long after the expiration dates. Preservatives, both natural ones like Vitamin E and others, work by being preferentially oxidized, but once they have all been oxidized it is the food which is then oxidized (rotted).
Sukie (not a vet)
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.miamiferret.org/
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
all ferret topics:
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html
"All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow."
(2010, Steve Crandall)
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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