skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

CDC’s ‘Get Smart Week’ Aims to Outsmart Bacteria

play audio
Play

Monday, November 15, 2010   

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - Outsmarting the enemy will take a team effort. That's the message of the "Get Smart About Antibiotics" campaign from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It aims to educate the public, doctors and agricultural producers that antibiotics need to be used more judiciously, in order to reduce the spread of antibiotic-resistant infections in humans.

The medical director for the CDC's "Get Smart" project, Lauri Hicks, says there is a new sense of urgency, because resistant bacteria are spreading rapidly. They're connected to the overuse and misuse of antibiotics, and the rate of new antibiotic discoveries has slowed almost to a halt.

"Now, common infections may be difficult to treat. When you really need an antibiotic, it may not work."

A type of antibiotic-resistant pneumonia only found in one state in 2001, Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase, has now spread to 35 states, including Wyoming.

Veterinarian Gail Hansen, a senior officer with the Pew Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Farming, says getting farmers and ranchers on board with phasing out the routine use of antibiotics for food animal production is just as urgent. She adds that 70 percent of the antibiotics sold in the U.S. are used on industrial farms to help animals grow faster and stay healthy in crowded conditions.

"We've seen bacteria that have become resistant to antibiotics - bacteria that are found predominantly in animals - that then get into our food supply and make people sick. That's happening."

Those who support using antibiotics in food animal production claim there's no proof that antibiotic-resistant bacteria come from animals. Hansen explains that drug-resistance is a shared risk, just as effective antibiotics are a shared resource. She wants to see farmers and ranchers get assistance in changing production methods, so antibiotics are only used for medical reasons.

"We need to be looking forward to how we come up with answers that more closely match what's being done on the farms today. What works on the farms? What doesn't work on the farms?"

CDC campaign details are available at www.cdc.gov. Additional information is at www.SaveAntibiotics.org.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …


Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …


More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social media platform X temporarily shutdown searches of "Taylor Swift" following the release of explicit deepfake images in early 2024. (Mdv Edwards/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Social Issues

play sound

A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has pr…

Environment

play sound

A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops. Excess nitrates can wind up …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021