As the Maryland General Assembly works on legislation to limit the use of antibiotics in farm animals that are not sick, Fair Farms will be working to keep you informed on why this is such an important issue for the health of farms, farmland, farm workers and the public health. We’ll post updated stories and news items as they become available.
And don’t let the infectious smile of our villain fool you — he is indeed deadly!
February 2017
- Washington Post Opinion: How Maryland Can Combat the Spread of Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria (February 3, 2017)
A story of yet another person succumbing to an infection caused by a superbug, this time in Nevada, came across my news feed recently. Unfortunately, I don’t need to read about the woman’s recent death to know that we have an antibiotic-resistance crisis. As an infectious-diseases pharmacist and coordinator of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at the University of Maryland Medical Center, I live and breathe the science on antibiotic resistance and am acutely aware of the consequences of inaction. By Emily L. Heil
JANUARY 2017
- A Message from Jermie Superbug (January 19, 2017)
Some have labeled me a villain. By way of introduction, my name is “SuperBug.” My friends call me Jermie. It is my mission to become immune to all human antibiotics. I especially like to build my resistance to treatments for those with compromised immune systems, children and the elderly. - CNN: Drug-resistant superbug may be more widespread than previously known (January 17, 2017)
“We often talk about the rising tide of antibiotic resistance in apocalyptic terms,” said William Hanage, senior author of the study and an associate professor of epidemiology at the Harvard Chan School. “But we should always remember that the people who are most at risk of these things would be at risk for any infection, because they are often among the frailer people in the health care system.” - NPR: A Superbug That Resisted 26 Antibiotics (January 17, 2017)
“People keep asking me, how close are we to going off the cliff,” says Dr. James Johnson, professor of infectious diseases medicine at the University of Minnesota. The cliffside free fall he is talking about is the day that drug-resistant bacteria will be able to outfox the world’s entire arsenal of antibiotics. Common infections would then become untreatable. -
PBS: A stealthy superbug appears to be spreading in U.S. hospitals, study finds (January 17, 2017)
A dangerous type of superbug has more tricks up its sleeves than we may be giving it credit for, a new study suggests. -
Modern Farmer: A Dangerous “Superbug” Has Been Found on a U.S. Pig Farm. Should You Worry? (January 5, 2017)
Researchers from Ohio State University have discovered the dangerous bacteria carbapenem-resistant enterobactericeae (CRE) on a U.S. pig farm for the first time. The germs have a high antibiotic-resistance, which includes resistance to carbapenems, a group of antibiotics of last resort. CRE are considered an “urgent” public health threat by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and can cause life-threatening diseases that kill about half the patients who contract them.
JULY 2016
-
Frederick News Post: The Dreaded Antibiotic-Resistant ‘Superbug’ has Arrived. Now What? (July 13, 2016)
The recent discovery in an American patient of a “superbug” resistant to colistin, an antibiotic of last resort, is currently rocking the medical profession. This resistance gene has now been found in several U.S. communities just a few weeks after its discovery at the end of May at Walter Reed Army Medical Research Center. The rapid movement of this gene into new populations illustrates just how easily bacteria can share genes that are advantageous to them.