The+Matrix+-+Antibiotics+Helinski

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Antibiotics are intended assist the human body fight disease but killing of bacteria but not damaging the cells within your body. Each different type of antibiotic affects different bacteria in different ways. For example, an antibiotic might inhibit a bacterium's ability to turn glucose into energy, or its ability to construct its cell wall.


 * Over time strains of bacteria can develop intro stronger strains that may become resistant to antibiotics
 * Estimated that 18,000 Americans die yearly from drug resistant infections
 * Healthcare estimates that $4 billion are associated with drug resistant bacteria yearly
 * The common battle to these resistant bacteria are to develop stronger drugs
 * Only causes strains to become increasingly strong
 * Newer drugs are exponentially more expensive
 * 2001 – 20% of adults questioned did not fill at least one prescription during the year due to restrictive costs
 * Resistance has increased between 40-49% in five years (1994-1999)
 * Almost every Strain of Staphylococcus (staph infection) is now resistant to antibiotics oxacillin, penicillin and amoxicillin, and strains of the disease have begun developing resistance to newer drugs like methicillin and vancomycin
 * One out of six cases of campylobacter infection, (the most common cause of bacterial food poisoning), is resistant to the antibiotic most often used to treat severe food poisoning
 * Non-therapeutic use of antibiotics has increased by about 50 percent since 1985
 * · By 1998 there were 3 species of bacteria “superbugs” that were resistant to all available forms of antibiotics

Not only have antibiotics caused harm through ingestion by the human population, feeding livestock antibiotics has lead to just as many issues as through direct human consumption as well.


 * Antibiotics have been put into animal feed since 1946,
 * Livestock fed antibiotics show increase in growth and ability to put on weight faster
 * Antibiotics are used in 90% of starter feeds, 75% of grower feeds and more than half of finishing feeds for pigs in the U.S
 * Nearly 5 million pounds of two tetracycline antibiotics are fed to swine annually
 * These two kinds is nearly 60% greater than the volume given to all sick humans
 * 25 million pounds of antibiotics used in cattle, swine and poultry for nontherapeutic purposes
 * 3 million pounds of antibiotics are used in human medicine 8 times the amount of antibiotics in healthy animals as we are using to treat diseases
 * 50,000 pounds of antibiotics used as pesticides
 * 70 percent of all antibiotics used in the United States are fed to healthy farm animals.
 * Fed to compensate unsanitary conditions that they are raised in
 * When drug-resistant bacteria develop at industrial livestock facilities, they can reach the human population
 * Food
 * the environment (water, soil, air)
 * direct contact with animals (farmers and workers)
 * 80 to 90 percent of all antibiotics given to animals are not fully digested and eventually pass through the body and enter the environment
 * Over 2 trillion pounds annually of animal waste produced
 * Animal waste is largely used in fertilizers which then transfers the bacteria
 * To crop grounds
 * Water sources
 * Additional workers and farmers
 * 1.4 million cases of Salmonella annually, 95% from contaminated foods

Phasing out the use:
 * 1999 WHO recommended that the EU ban several important antibiotics currently in use
 * 1986 Sweden banned all non-therapeutic drugs
 * 1999 Denmark followed
 * Eliminating frivolous drugs would only raise prices approximately $10 per person annually
 * Much more beneficial than amount spent medically from resistive drugs
 * October 2000 the US FDA suggested phasing out of fluoroquinolones in poultry
 * Fluoroquinolones choice drug for human airborne illnesses
 * Dramatic increase in air borne illnesses since use of drug
 * As of November 2003 the drug is still in use due to contentment to the ban

Works Cited "Antibiotics, Antibiotic Use in Animal - The Issues - Sustainable Table." Web. 30 Mar. 2010. . "APUA: Q&A's Antibiotic Resistance & Society." //Tufts University//. Web. 30 Mar. 2010. . "HowStuffWorks "How Do Antibiotics Work?"" //Howstuffworks "Health"// Web. 30 Mar. 2010. . // Keep Antibiotics Working //. Web. 30 Mar. 2010. . Knobler, Stacey, Stanley Lemon, and Marajan Najarfi. //THE RESISTANCE PHENOMENON IN MICROBES AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE VECTORS//. //THE RESISTANCE PHENOMENON IN MICROBES AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE VECTORS//. Web. 30 Mar. 2010. . Shea, Kah=therine, Karen Florini, and Tamar Balam. //When Wonder Drugs Don;t Work//. //When Wonder Drugs Don't Work//. Web. 30 Mar. 2010. . "Statement on Hogging It!: Estimates of Antimicrobial Abuse in Livestock | Union of Concerned Scientists." //Homepage | Union of Concerned Scientists//. Web. 30 Mar. 2010. . "The Crisis in Antibiotic Resistance -- Neu 257 (5073): 1064 -- Science." //Science/AAAS | Scientific Research, News and Career Information//. Web. 31 Mar. 2010. . // RensSearch: Rensselaer Libraries - Proxy Login //. Web. 31 Mar. 2010. . // RensSearch: Rensselaer Libraries - Proxy Login //. Web. 31 Mar. 2010. .