Is undercooked meat exposing you to a SUPERBUG?

Antibiotic resistant bugs could be transferred from animals to humans

A SUPERBUG caused by undercooked meat from drug-resistant animals might be putting the public at risk, an "extremely worrying" new report has revealed.

 

The use of antibiotics in farming must be reduced because it represents a critical threat to public health, a Government-commissioned Review on Antimicrobial Resistance has said.

The review, led by Lord O’Neill, claimed that there’s a possibility drug-resistant infections could be transferred from animals to humans by eating undercooked meat.

Whether it’s through direct contact between humans and animals, eating undercooked meat or via animal waste, the report highlighted the risk that superbugs could develop and spread.

Lord O'Neill highlighted the fact that consumption of antibiotics by animals is greater than that by humans in many countries around the world.

 



Antibiotic consumption is often greater with animals than humans said Lord O'Neill



The review called for a phased reduction of this widespread use of antibiotics in agriculture - suggesting countries could agree limits on their use over the next 10 years.

Strict standards around industrial pollution, ensuring as little manufacturing waste as possible is released into the environment were also recommended. The review is expected to present further proposals next year.

Last month, researchers in China identified a gene that makes infectious bacteria such as Escherichia coli (E.coli) highly resistant to polymyxins - the last group of antibiotics left after ALL others have failed.

 



Scientists recently discovered a gene that makes infectious bacteria resistant to antibiotics



This discovery, described as "extremely worrying" by one scientist, suggests that the gene can easily be transferred to bacteria and has the potential to cause epidemics.

An E.coli strain showing resistance to the polymyxin drug colistin was isolated from an intensively-farmed pig in Shanghai during routine testing.

Lord O'Neill said: "I find it staggering that in many countries most of the consumption of antibiotics is in animals, rather than humans. 

"This creates a big resistance risk for everyone, which was highlighted by the recent Chinese finding of resistance to colistin - an important last-resort antibiotic which has been used extensively in animals.

 

The review called for the phasing out of drugs use in agriculture

"As we've highlighted, most of the scientific research provides evidence to support curtailing antibiotic use in agriculture, it's time for policy makers to act on this. 

"We need to radically reduce global use of antibiotics and to do this we need world leaders to agree to an ambitious target to lower levels, along with restricting the use of antibiotics important to humans."