Antibiotic-resistant bacterial DNA on the rise in soil - 7 Jan 2010  
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A comprehensive study by Dutch and British scientists has revealed that bacterial strains resistant to antibiotic treatment are on the rise in the Netherlands. The scientists looked at soil samples collected between 1940 and 2008 from five sites around the country and found that 78% of the bacterial genes were resistant
to four different classes of antibiotics.

Research lead, Professor David Graham of Newcastle University in the United Kingdom, said he expected that other countries would have similar results and called for additional testing.

In the Netherlands, where medication-resistant MRSA strains are already a known medical issue, veterinarians and farmers are considered to pose more serious infection risks and are immediately isolated when hospitalized because of their constant exposure to the potent germs carried by intensely confined animals.
Recently, both Dutch and US legislators have been considering bans on routine and excessive antibiotics fed to farmed animals. Besides antibiotic abuse, other widespread livestock practices pose constant public health dangers, such as the crowded and filthy factory-style farming of pigs that spawned the swine flu.

In countries with updated infection data, Kuwait has recorded 26 swine flu deaths, Algeria 47, Egypt 159, Israel 80, China 659, and India announced her death toll to have passed 1,000. While representing just a fraction of actual human losses, the global total of confirmed fatalities stands at 21,164. Our prayers for all infected by swine flu as well as other by-product diseases of animal raising.

We are alarmed to hear about the growing threat to public health presented by dangerous, antibiotic-resistant bacteria. May governments promote solutions that go to the root cause by eliminating factory farms and supporting instead the humane and lifesaving organic vegan diet.

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