Simple steps to take when the feds fail to protect us from superbugs
Thousands of people die every year due to antibiotic-resistant infections.
And the enormous, unnecessary use of antibiotics in farm animals is fueling this crisis into a horror story the likes of which we’ve never seen before.
It’s a matter of life and death. Only our regulators seem to be wearing blinders.
Fortunately, there are some important steps you can take to protect yourself and your family right now from this invisible threat.
Three years ago the FDA announced a big plan to curb antibiotic use in food-producing animals.
It went like this: Drugmakers and agribusiness companies were asked to voluntarily stop giving important antibiotics to farm animals to fatten them up. It was all spelled out in a paper called Guidance 213.
And guess what? It didn’t work.
Not only didn’t it work, it seems to have backfired. Since Guidance 213 was issued, antibiotic use in livestock has gone up almost five percent! But seriously, that’s just the icing on this contaminated cake.
You see, the majority of antibiotics sold in the U.S. aren’t for sick people. No, they’re shipped right to those huge factory farms all across the country to be given to food animals to fatten them up faster.
I’m talking about close to three quarters of the “medically important” antibiotics we have. The same drugs used to save human lives. To get an idea of how much this is, in 2011 7.25 million pounds of antibiotics were sold for use in people. But over 18 million pounds were given to farm animals.
And when these animals get these continuous, small doses of antibiotics, it creates those drug-resistant super bugs I’ve warned you about.
Guidance 213 was supposed to put the brakes on that, only it left in place something you could call the loophole to end all loopholes. It allowed for the use of antibiotics in livestock and poultry for the purpose of “disease prevention.”
And that leaves a way for agribusiness to use the “lion’s share” of antibiotics, all under the guise of prevention, rather than genuine illness.
So, to try and put a stop to this deadly practice, just last week five public interest groups filed a petition with the FDA, asking the agency to immediately fix Guidance 213.
“Until the FDA takes mandatory action,” and eliminates those “disease-prevention uses,” the petition stated, soon we’ll have reached the point of no return.
And that could very well be where we’re headed. Right now, the CDC says these superbugs are making over two million Americans sick every year and killing 23,000. And that’s just the beginning. Deaths are expected to rise into the hundreds of thousands soon.
But don’t hold your breath hoping the FDA will spring, or even limp, into action.
We obviously can’t wait any longer. But the good news is there are three big steps we can take to keep ourselves and our families as safe as possible.
Step #1: Start buying certified organic meat, poultry and milk. These animals aren’t given antibiotics unless they’re sick. And if they do need to be treated, they’re no longer considered to be organic.
Step #2: If you or a loved one is in the hospital, make sure that any IVs, tubes or catheters are taken out as soon as possible. Hospitals are the number-one places to pick up a superbug infection, and all these tubes and lines are like a superhighway for these bugs to travel right into your body.
Step #3: You’ve heard this one many times before, but it’s never been more important — wash your hands. Especially after handling meat or poultry, even if it’s organic.
Sources:
“Restrictions on some uses of antibiotics in livestock urged” Ed Silverman, September 14, 2016, Stat, statnews.com
