The Effect of Antibiotics on the the World’s State Of Health.
A number of human beings and farm animals especially pigs are dying are known to be dying due to the spread of Antibiotic-resistant bacteria that produce enzymes called Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamases (ESBLs).
ESBLs are enzymes that are produced by certain species of bacteria, that make them resistant to cephalosporins such as cefuroxime, cefotaxime, and ceftazidime –the widely used antibiotics in hospitals. Antibiotics are used to treat the bacteria but the bacteria have developed a resistance through a process of natural mutation by producing ESBLs that break down an exceptional number of antibiotics causing substantial challenge to the treatment of infected people. ESBLs were first talked about in the mid 1980s and the 1990s. The British Health Protection Agency (HPA) monitors trends in the bacteria producing these enzymes.
The problem of ESBLs did not cause so much concern until the recent escalation of the number of infected people and the detection of a new class of ESBL called CTX-M enzymes. This has been widely detected among Escherichia coli (E. Coli) bacteria. The E. Coli bacteria produce an ESBL that is able to resist penicillins and cephalosporins and is predominantly found in cases of urinary tract infections.(Penicillin is also an antibiotic)
ESBLs were originally found in the Klebsiella species of bacteria, usually prevalent in hospitals and intensive care units, but of concern is that the ESBLs are now found in the community as well. Community acquired cases may have had prior contact with hospitals. Only a few people were infected by the Klebsiella species and did not appear to be a major concern until the detection of the E. Coli ESBL.
The ESBL (Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamase) producing bacteria have been implicated in the deaths of a number of people with cancer and liver infections. Health officials suspect that the bacteria are being transmitted to humans through pigs and maybe other animals as well. This could be due to the increased use of antibiotics in agriculture. There is evidence suggesting that they are found in faeces of both animals as well as human beings and that possible contamination of food then causes infection in human beings. Further suggestions say that spread is made easier when people take antibiotics thus killing benevolent bacteria normally present in the gut. This could be a significant factor that predisposes people to infection with ESBL. This may even suggest that people may not get infected unless and until they take an antibiotic for any reason. Other means of transmission could be through contaminated hands of health workers or poor practice in urinary catheter care.
Care homes and hospitals should ensure that hand washing and other infection control procedures are rigorously enforced if contamination is to be effectively curbed.
Various species of bacteria such as the following have been known to produce ESBLs:
- Klebsiella pneumoniae
- Klebsiella oxytoca,
- Salmonella,
- Proteus mirabilis,
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Each bacterial species, produces an ESBL that is unique to itself and reacts differently to various antibiotic administration.
Figures published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) of October 2007 say that nearly 100,000 people were infected with the invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) and that led to over 18,600 deaths in 2005. (Staphlococcus aureus is a narrow spectrum beta lactamase producing bacteria. Methicillin is no longer being manufactured and its clinical use has been stopped and replaced by flucloxacillin and dicloxacillin, however the term (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus MRSA) continues to be used to describe Staphlococcus aureus strains resistant to all penicillins). If you compare this with the 17,000 people that died of AIDS/HIV that year, it is clear that we have got a major problem in the use of antibiotics.
Equally MRSA did shoot into the news then and headlines suggested we needed to limit the use of antibiotics, exercise proper hygiene, and unsure that waste disposal must be done more carefully to avoid cross contamination and infection. But little has been said about the rampant use of antibiotics in agriculture. Both MRSA and ESBL’s have been traced back to the animals that are raised for food especially pigs.
Figures show that 70% of all antibiotics produced are used in the agricultural sector especially for livestock. This means that 30% is directly consumed by humans and the rest we also consume indirectly either through beef, pork, fruit and vegetables or whatever is grown by Man. Even vegetarians are equally exposed to this as most market vegetables, including potatoes, carrots, corn and lettuce are grown in a green house with manure from livestock. The antibiotics, which are still in the animal manure are absorbed into the vegetable tissue, through this unsuspected process. The damage may even be extended to the bacteria that reside in the soil from which we grow the crops.
Denmark’s health officials claimed that they were unsure how some people who have not consumed meat are now infected. It is pretty obvious that the dominant source of human antibiotic consumption is our food. Vegetables grown from manure, without the use of fertilizers, are considered naturally grown and are rated much higher and better. Such vegetables adorn the organic shelves of our high street supermarkets, fetching exorbitant prices compared to other vegetables. Fruits are no exception.
According to research on John Hopkins website, the main domicile of the organisms that produce the ESBLs is in the lower digestive tract and the bacteria can virtually remain in the gastrointestinal tract for months. The animals are fed low doses of antibiotics for growth promotion and disease prevention. The overweight animal creates a perfect condition for the antibiotic resistance to develop and flourish.
A foregone conclusion we can come to is that the meat industry is the major driving force behind the development of antibiotics that has resulted in the antibiotic-resistance bacteria that are now infecting people. Many thanks to the FDA (U.S. Food And Drugs Administration Department) who banned the use of fluoroquinolones, a widely used class of antimicrobials, from agriculture in 1977, not without a lot of resistance from such multi-national corporations who have a lot of say in the antibiotic industry.
So how do we avoid excessive antibiotic exposure?
Well, this depends on where you live. If you live in the large metropolitans, it might be a good idea to find a farmer who uses non-toxic farming methods, who lives near you, or make use of community agricultural projects that provide healthy locally grown foods, that you could request to supply your requirements. In the non-urban setting, the best thing is to “grow it” yourself using compost manure.
Grass fed beef are not normally given antibiotics except for an infection and they are the better option than those kept locked in pens and dosed more regularly with the antibiotics and other ‘quick-grow’ substances.
A 2006 study also concluded that poultry meat from conventionally kept chickens and the people that ate them were found to be resistant to Synercid (quinupristin and dalfopristin), a strong antibiotic that is used to treat antibiotic resistant bacteria. Conventionally kept chickens are not very different from free-range and free-range is what people would buy when given a choice. I am sure you would agree that this is making everyone vulnerable beyond modern medicine. The study also revealed that it was rare to find resistant bacteria among antibiotic-free chicken.
So much for the food we eat and the trust we put in the heavily mechanised farms all around us now. I personally believe that everything starts in the gut. There are so many untreatable diseases these days, so many allergies, so many conditions and syndromes. It is well overdue that we re-examined all remedies and treatments that we use for both human beings and our livestock.
