Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by janrinok on Saturday August 24 2019, @09:34PM   Printer-friendly
from the but-not-soycows dept.

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Deadly superbug outbreak in humans linked to antibiotic spike in cows

A deadly outbreak of multi-drug resistant Salmonella that sickened 225 people across the US beginning in 2018 may have been spurred by a sharp rise in the use of certain antibiotics in cows a year earlier, infectious disease investigators reported this week.

From June 2018 to March of 2019, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified an outbreak of Salmonella enterica serotype Newport. The strain was resistant to several antibiotics, most notably azithromycin—a recommended treatment for Salmonella enterica infections. Before the outbreak, azithromycin-resistance in this germ was exceedingly rare. In fact, it was only first seen in the US in 2016.

Yet in the 2018-2019 outbreak, it reached at least 225 people in 32 states. Of those sickened, at least 60 were hospitalized and two died. (Researchers didn't have complete health data on everyone sickened in the outbreak.)

Infectious disease researchers investigating the cases traced the infections back to beef from the US and soft cheeses from Mexico (mostly queso fresco, which is typically made from unpasteurized milk). Genetic testing suggests that cows in both countries are carrying the germ.

In a report published August 23 by the CDC, the investigators note that just a year earlier, the Food and Drug Administration recorded a spike in the use of antibiotics called macrolides by cattle farmers. From 2016 to 2017, cattle farmers increased their use of macrolide antibiotics by 41%. Macrolides are a class of antibiotics that includes azithromycin. Because antibiotics within a class work to kill bacteria in similar ways, bacterial resistance to one drug in a class could lead to resistance to other drugs in the same class.

The investigators suggest that the surge in macrolide use could have encouraged the rise and spread of the azithromycin-resistant Newport strain.

"Because use of antibiotics in livestock can cause selection of resistant strains, the reported 41% rise in macrolide use in US cattle from 2016 to 2017 might have accelerated carriage of the outbreak strain among US cattle," they wrote.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 24 2019, @11:27PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 24 2019, @11:27PM (#884964)

    I thought this was due to romaine lettuce? How does salmonella survive cooking?

  • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 24 2019, @11:41PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 24 2019, @11:41PM (#884969)

    It gets transferred from Diego or Subinder's hand onto the cooked food while they're plating it between bathroom breaks. Remember: all employees must wash their hands after shitting. Enjoy your next burger with this in mind.

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by rylyeh on Sunday August 25 2019, @03:28AM

      by rylyeh (6726) <{kadath} {at} {gmail.com}> on Sunday August 25 2019, @03:28AM (#885057)

      I'd like an inoculation to the mutual osculation of Dumb-asses! 🐙

      --
      "a vast crenulate shell wherein rode the grey and awful form of primal Nodens, Lord of the Great Abyss."
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @04:24AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @04:24AM (#885069)

    The recommended process to kill Salmonella is to cook to a 145 degree hold for 3 minutes followed by a 5 minute rest (note that is not enough to kill other types of bacteria that may be present). Medium rare is an internal temperature of 135 degrees and a 5 minute rest. Even medium's 145 internal temp and 5 minute rest is not enough to reliably kill Salmonella, and don't get me started on rare meat. And that doesn't even get to the idea of cross contamination, storing cooked meat below raw meat in the walk-in freezer or touching the wrong piece of raw meat followed by touching some finished food without a proper re-gloving are two easy ways to get someone sick.