Printer-friendly version
By Miriam Raftery
March 30, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) - Time Magazine reports that a new study has found antibiotic-resistant bacteria from cattle yards in Texas have become airborne—meaning they could spread to people.
A study will be published in Environmental Health Perspectives in April. One of the authors, molecular biologist Greg Mayer, told a Texas newspaper that the study’s findings “made me not want to breathe.”
The cattle excrete the bacteria in manure. The bacteria then acquire natural immunities to survive – but now they’re going airborne in dust and blown by winds long distances from the stockyards.
Cattle yards in just the four major cattle producing Midwest states release up to 46,000 tons of particles each day—particles that could be absorbed in the lungs of people. The bacteria can also be absorbed in food or water consumed, potentially making the battle against antibiotic-resistant bacteria a lot more challenging –and that’s no bull.
Recent comments