A fatality from an infection that was untreatable because the bacteria that caused it were resistant to all available antibiotics highlights the need to restrict unnecessary use and protect the remaining effective antimicrobials.
A woman in the USA was killed by a bacteria strain that had gained resistance to 26 different types of antibiotic, according to a report from the United States’ Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
According to Farming Online, which reported the incident, it marks another step towards a world in which bacterial infections are once again almost impossible to fight.
The woman, who was in her 70s and died last September, contracted the infection after breaking her leg in India, where there are more antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment. The UK’s Chief Medical Officer, Dame Sally Davies, has said antibiotic resistance poses as great a threat to humanity as climate change. The use of antibiotics in factory-farmed animals is a significant factor in increasing antibiotic resistance.
Read the full story here, and find out more here about Sustain's work to restrict the unnecessary use of antbiotics in farmed animals.
Published Friday 20 January 2017
Sustain: Sustain The alliance for better food and farming advocates food and agriculture policies and practices that enhance the health and welfare of people and animals, improve the working and living environment, enrich society and culture and promote equity.
