Ashley Abernathey's article review

Gilchrist, M., Greko, C., Wallinga, D., Bern, G., Riley, D., Thorne, P. (2007). The Potential Role of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations in Infectious Disease Epidemics and Antibiotic Resistance. Environmental Health Perspectives 115(2), 313-316. Retrieved from JSTOR.

In this article from Environmental Health Perspectives titled, “The Potential Role of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations in Infectious Disease Epidemics and Antibiotic Resistance”, the authors talk about many issues that have come up over the past years about antibiotic use in livestock production, how this effects the human population and what can be done in the future to minimize this. The widespread use of nontherapeutic antimicrobial growth promoters in livestock production has resulted in the increased risk and emergence of new, more resistant microorganisms. This, in turn, has reduced the effectiveness of many antibiotics used for treating infections in humans and animals. There have been recent outbreaks of virulent strains of influenza which have originated from swine and poultry raised in close proximity. The authors mention that there are many potential risks for human infection that may result from high concentrations of animals, but they mainly focus on two risks: influenza and antibiotic resistance. They also touch on the ways in which infectious agents get transmitted, including water, animal feed and human food.

In this article, the authors explain how resistant bacteria are formed, how they are passed on to humans and what the outcome of this is. Also, they discuss ways to establish consistent and responsible operating practices to ensure the sensible use of antibiotics. The information in this article will help in my research paper as we are investigating resistant bacterial strains and the use of antibiotics in farming.

First, this article gives some background information already known about bacteria being transferred from animals to humans. Microorganisms are transferred much more quickly and easily in higher populated areas. These conditions also create a breeding ground where new, more resistant bacterial strains are created. The authors brought up the Nipha virus infection and the avian influenza, both of which originated in a certain animal herd and killed members of both the herd and the workers. These zoonotic diseases, diseases transmissible from animals to humans, are contributed to by all segments of livestock production; including transportation of animals, manure handling practices, veterinary medicine, meat processing and animal rendering. Each of these positions should be aware of the infectious disease risks to both animals and humans.

Secondly, they bring up antibiotic resistant and how it has become a huge concern. Many bacterial strains are resistant to multiple antibiotics and in some cases there are few or no antibiotics available to treat resistant pathogens [Institute of Medicine (IOM) 1998; Molbak et al. 1999]. This increase in antibiotic resistance is caused by the use and overuse of antibiotics, which occurs in both humans and animals. Much of the antibiotics used in animals go towards growth promotion. However, growth rates in animals are lessening because of prolonged use of these antibiotics. They discuss several recent studies that have been done that validate the transmission of multi-drug resistant pathogens from swine to humans. They also review some research that’s been done on the use of other treatments such as vaccines and probiotics that may be a potential solution in this fight against antibiotic resistance.

Thirdly, they consider policy initiatives to bring about responsible operating practices and also to promote the value of antibiotic-free meat products. The authors encourage doctors, pharmacists, and other medical providers to be involved in responsible practices to provide a collaborative effort in order to reduce the resistant bacterial strains being created.

Lastly, the authors discuss the ways in which zoonoses can be transmitted. These include water, air, consumption or handling of meat products, or direct transmission from animals to humans.

This article will definitely help in the background section on our research paper. It has many good points we can expand on to make our paper more informative. Such as the different ways bacteria is spread and the different policies to establish responsible operating practices. I agree with what this paper has to say, so it will be something I can refer back to. This paper also encouraged me to research more and find out if any of the policies stated here have been tested and if so what the outcome was.