This is the VOA SpecialEnglish AGRICULTURE REPORT.
Recent studies show bacteria that are resistant to antibioticdrugs are common in meat in the United States. The bacteria cansurvive in the human body. Some bacteria also may causedrug-resistant infections in people.
For years, American farmers have given antibiotics to the animalsthey raise for food. The drugs are used to prevent infections andincrease the size of the animals.
The Union of Concerned Scientists estimates that more thannine-million kilograms of antibiotics are given to animals eachyear. The group says less than ten percent of that total are used totreat active infections.
The Animal Health Institute represents companies that make drugsfor animals. The group says antibiotics help keep animals healthy.
However, bacteria living in the animals can become resistant toantibiotics. Scientists suspect that people may be gettingantibiotic-resistant bacteria from the food they eat.
In Nineteen-Ninety-Eight, the European Union barred the use ofantibiotics in farm animals. Some groups support the idea of asimilar ban in the United States.
The New England Journal of Medicine published two studies aboutthe issue last month.
Researchers at the University of Maryland and the United StatesFood and Drug Administration carried out one study. They tested meatfor the presence of salmonella bacteria, a leading cause of foodpoisoning. They tested two-hundred small amounts of chicken, turkey,beef, and pork from three stores in the Washington, D-C area. Twentypercent of the products tested had salmonella.
Eighty-four percent of the salmonella were resistant to at leastone antibiotic. Fifty-three percent were resistant to three or moreantibiotics.
Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Preventioncarried out the other study. They tested more than four-hundredchickens from twenty-six stores in four states. The researchersfound that more than half of the chickens contained a drug-resistantbacterium.
The New England Journal of Medicine also published a commentaryby an expert on infectious diseases. He called for banning the useof antibiotics in animals except to treat infections.
This VOA Special English AGRICULTURE REPORT was written by GeorgeGrow.