Antibiotic resistance may be spread by wastewater, wind, but not meat itself

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In the first study to track antibiotic resistance in intensively-farmed beef, scientists discovered a “startling” lack of resistance genes in meat.

Meanwhile, in soil and faeces samples from cattle pens they found genes resistant to a powerful “last resort” class of antibiotics called carpabemens that aren’t used in the livestock industry. These genes may have jumped from humans or companion animals to livestock, or could even be present at low levels in the wider environment.

Together, the results published in eLife suggest researchers and policy-makers need to switch focus to combat the growing problem of drug-resistant bugs. A current focus for policy-makers is to reduce antibiotic use in livestock to curb the spread of drug-resistant bugs. The team urges that traffic from humans to animals, and back to humans via the environment, should be a new focus for research.

“Our findings clearly show that the spread of resistance is not a one-way street from animals to humans and that, as new evidence emerges, we need to shift focus ,” says lead author Noelle Noyes from the Microbial Ecology Group at Colorado State University.

. . . .

Environmental routes of exposure are much harder to trace and have been largely overlooked by researchers and policy-makers. While many of us never step foot on working farms, we are physically connected to agriculture via wastewater run-off and windborne particulates. The scientists suggest investigating wind patterns and water flow to see if, and how, resistant bacteria may be disseminated, and how far.

Read full, original post: Drug-resistant genes spread through environment, not meat products

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