( - promoted by Jill Richardson)
A study by the Union of Concerned Scientists found that in the United States, 70 percent of antibiotics are used to feed healthy livestock, with 14 percent more used to treat sick livestock. Only about 16 percent are used to treat humans and their pets, the study found.
I am not a scientist. I already am limited in drugs I can use by allergies, for example, I cannot use penicillin (one of many). Overuse of antibiotics creates resistant strains of bacteria, super bugs if you will. My allergies perhaps make me more at risk than most people, since I am limited in alternatives
But it does not matter if the strain is resistant to all known antibiotics MRSA, a kind of staph infection - kills about 18,000 Americans annually. That's more than die of AIDS.
Which is why you should read Nicholas Kristof this morning.
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