Superbugs in the food supply
A June 7, 2012 tweetchat involving journalist @marynmck, blogger and foodborne-illness victim @adamslisa, and the readers and followers of @SELFMagazine.
- The June issue of SELF Magazine includes a long investigative piece I did for them on antibiotic-resistant illnesses linked to food, occurring as a result of mis-use of farm antibiotics. There was so much interest in the story that we did an hour-long Twitterchat about it.
Have questions re: drug-resistant bacteria in food? Tweet #superbugs 4 - 5 EST. @marynmck @AdamsLisa will answer. on.self.com/Kxpj83- I started with a description of the complex underlying issues:
Hi everyone! Welcome to @SELFMagazine's tweetchat on antibiotic-resistant illnesses spreading via food. #superbugs- here with @adamslisa, one of a number of victims of drug-resistant illness in this story is.gd/bzdsAS in the June SELF #superbugs
- Here's the short version: Some ag practices use antibiotics in ways that create resistant organisms, which then move off farms #superbugs
- The names for these practices are 1) growth promotion, using tiny doses to make livestock gain weight faster, and also… #superbugs
- ... 2) prophylaxis, which gives antibiotics to animals that are not sick to protect against the conditions they are raised in #superbugs
- Important point! NO ONE objects to giving antibiotics to animals that are actually sick. To not treat them would be cruel. #superbugs
- But using less-than-treatment-strength doses allows stronger (resistant) bacteria to survive and leave the farm ... #superbugs
- ... via air, ground water and surface water, manure, farm workers, and in the animals and the meat they become. #superbugs
- Don't take our word for it: There's a long list of scientific studies on this. You can find some here is.gd/7P7BqW #superbugs
- Also important: Those smaller-than-treatment uses don't require an Rx or veterinarian's monitoring; they are given in feed. #superbugs
- Lately there have been increasing reports via doctors and in medical journals of foodborne illness becoming drug-resistant… #superbugs
- ... taking victims and their doctors by surprise, because bugs such as E. coli and Salmonella have not been resistant before. #superbugs
- Because there's little awareness these bugs can be resistant, victims often don't get the right treatment immediately... #superbugs
- ... which means they may get ineffective drugs, their illnesses go on longer, and they get sicker and take longer to recover. #superbugs
- She is a cancer survivor (yay!) but says her resistant Campylobacter made her sicker than cancer treatment did. Lisa, you there? #superbugs
- Then Lisa Bonchek Adams, who is one of a number of victims in the SELF story, told what happened to her:
There was great deal of fear when I became ill with campylobacter. Not only in figuring out what it was, but in what wld treat it #Superbugs- I became ill about 36 hours after eating a salad that had diced chicken on top at a restaurant. #superbugs
- I think the fact the chicken was diced made it hard to tell that it wasn't cooked all the way through. #superbugs
- It took 3 antibiotics to finally get me well, but residual effects lasted 4 months, during which time, I cld not eat most solids #superbugs
- I notified the Department of Health once I had a confirmed diagnosis as well. Important to track the cases of these illnesses #superbugs
- .@AdamsLisa I remember that you lost a lot of weight - girlfriends thought you looked great but you felt terrible #superbugs
