Antibiotics in our Food Supply

 

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 last several decades, killing and estimated 70,000 Americans last year. It's an "emerging health crisis" that scientists say is caused not only by the overuse of antibiotics in humans, but also in livestock.There are a lot of concerns about antibiotics being added to feeds and things of that nature that may be contributing to MRSA as well as other antibiotic resistance. 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.