

'Pig MRSA' Came From Humans, Evolved Via Farm Drugs - maxwell
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/02/pig-mrsa-origin/

======
diogenescynic
80% of the antibiotics sold in the US are ingested by animals:
[http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/12/news-update-
farm-a...](http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/12/news-update-farm-animals-
get-80-of-antibiotics-sold-in-us/) It lowers the cost of food production but
also lowers the effectiveness of those antibiotics in humans and creates drug
resistant bugs.

------
WildUtah
It's time for a global ban on antibiotic use in agriculture. These multidrug-
resistant species we're breeding are the single most likely cause of the
eventual extinction of the human species, far ahead of nuclear war.

~~~
naner
Right. If antibiotic use in animal farming is as high as indicated here, you
can't just ban it without severely impacting the food supply. I'm afraid this
problem probably won't get "solved" until lab-grown meat is feasible and
cheap.

~~~
adrianN
Or until our eating habits change sufficiently that we don't require a hunk of
meat for _every_ meal. Once or twice a week should be enough.

~~~
DrStalker
"vegetarian with meat" is a surprisingly nice diet choice; avoid anything
where meat is the focus and instead add some meat to what you're eating.

------
_delirium
It's somewhat surprising how little controlled antibiotics for non-human use
are. I can't buy tetracycline for myself without a prescription, but I can buy
tetracycline labeled for fish-aquarium use from Amazon, despite it being the
same chemical (survivalists and hypochondriacs have long taken advantage of
that loophole). And of course farmers use it by the ton.

~~~
rjurney
Most places you can buy tetracycline for people, too, OTC.

~~~
rsheridan6
In the US, at this time, you can't buy tetracycline for people at all - it
hasn't been available for months and won't be available anytime soon. Better
be a pig if you need it.

~~~
rjurney
Most places sell it OTC, globally.

------
CurtHagenlocher
"proponents of large-scale confinement agriculture contend does not exist: an
indication that farm antibiotic use breeds resistance that moves off the farm
and subsequently affects humans"

I'm stunned to hear that industry is still in denial about this. It seemed to
me ten years ago that the evidence was pretty overwhelming. I guess it's just
more evidence of the truth of Upton Sinclair's observation.

