Drawing lines against bacterial resistance

Drawing lines against bacterial resistance


If you’re up on medical news, you know that bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a public health crisis. But did you know that nearly 20 percent of resistant infections are traced back to food and animals?

It all starts when antibiotics are administered to livestock—sometimes to treat disease, but often to help prevent it or just stimulate growth. Antibiotics kill many intestinal bacteria—but not the resistant ones. Those pass out in the animals’ waste and can go on to contaminate meat, water, soil and produce.

Ingesting superbacteria in tainted food or by touching contaminated surfaces can result in serious antibiotic-resistant infections.

New rules now limit the use of antibiotics in livestock. Do your part by properly cleaning, separating, cooking and chilling foods. You can get more information at foodsafety.gov.

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