SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY IN NYC

Within the beef industry of the USA, the overuse of antibiotics in cattle causes bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics. The antibiotics used for cattle are similar to those used in humans, so the antibiotic-resistant bacteria are becoming a problem for sick human beings.  Penicillin is the main antibiotic that they have become resistant to, because we use it so much. Farmers inject it into cattle to protect it from diseases, and to enhance the growth of cattle.
The dairy cattle industry uses about an average of 3.7 million pounds of antibiotics every year. Seventy percent of this is used as a non-therapeutic use, which means they are not used to treat sick cattle, but to enhance their growth. Amoxicillin, Ampicillin, Bacitracin, and Tetracycline, are the most widely known forms of Penicillin and are being introduced into cattle. They are used to treat and prevent common bacterial diseases that afflict cattle. About 55% of cattle are injected with these antibiotics. Sounds like we’re taking good care of our cattle and their consumers. In actuality this is not the case. The major problem that arises with the mammoth amount of antibiotic use is the development of “super” bacteria. Our focus will be directed toward Penicillin’s use and bacterial resistance to it.
Penicillin G Benzathine and Pencillin G Procaine are no longer approved for use in dairy cows (lactating females) but is still used in beef cattle (bulls or non-lactating cattle). This antibiotic was administered to the cows that were suffering from mastitis (inflammation of the udder) and/or cows with foot problems. In fact, our research indicated that the recommended use (perhaps determined by regulations and research) on beef cattle is 2 ml per 150 pounds of body weight. Farmers were giving them a lot more than the recommended amount.
When injecting antibiotics excessively we are allowing bacteria to become resistant to them. Antibiotics work by disrupting the mechanism in bacteria that allow them to regenerate their cell wall. Without a cell wall the bacteria will die. Eventually bacteria are able to adapt through mutations in their genome that allow them to survive in the antibiotic environment. The mutation will not allow Penicillin to inactivate the enzymes responsible for cell wall regeneration. This occurs faster than expected due to bacteria’s high turn over rate; they reproduce very quickly. This creates a cascade effect. After ingesting milk or beef, the resistant bacteria may proliferate and infect the human and pass it on to other bacteria.
Upon the conduction of our investigation on the possibility of a mutated strand of super bacteria that can arise from antibiotics use, we conclude that the use of antibiotics in beef and dairy cattle should be restricted to minimal quantity and only when necessary. As a result of bacterial mutation, penicillin was banned from use on US dairy cattle and is regulated by the FDA. It is important to note that not all of our data is very recent and antibiotics usage could change on a monthly basis because bacterial resistance is increasing as administration of antibiotics is increasing.

Posted by gordas  on December 9th, 2008 under Uncategorized • RSS 2.0 feed • You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed