Antibiotic resistance is a food safety problem
for several reasons. First, antibiotic resistance
is increasing to some antibiotics, such as fluoroquinolones
and third-generation cephalosporins. These antibiotics
are commonly used to treat serious infections caused
by bacterial pathogens frequently found in food, such
as Salmonella and Campylobacter.
Each year, several million people in the United States
are infected with Salmonella and Campylobacter, which
usually cause diarrhea that lasts about a week. Antibiotics
are not recommended for treatment of most of these
diarrheal illnesses, but are used to prevent complications
in infants, persons with weakened immune systems,
and older persons. Antibiotics may be life-saving
for several thousand people each year who have serious
invasive infections, such as bacteremia (infection
in the bloodstream) and meningitis (infection of the
lining of the brain and spinal cord). Salmonella infections
are treated with ampicillin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole,
fluoroquinolones or third-generation cephalosporins,
but some Salmonella and Campylobacter infections have
become resistant to these medicines.
A second reason that antibiotic resistance is a food
safety problem is that more people may become ill.
Ordinarily, healthy persons who consume a few Salmonella
may carry them for a few weeks without having any
symptoms, because those few Salmonella are held in
check by the normal bacteria in their intestines.
However, even a few antibiotic-resistant Salmonella
in food can cause illness if the person who consumes
the contaminated food then takes an antibiotic for
another reason. The antibiotic can kill normal bacteria
in the gut, letting a few Salmonella that ordinarily
would be unlikely to cause illness, take over and
cause illness.
A third possible reason that antibiotic resistance
is a food safety problem is that the food supply may
be a source of antibiotic-resistant genes. Harmless
bacteria present in food-producing animals could be
resistant, and humans could acquire these bacteria
when they eat meat products from these animals. Once
ingested, resistant genes from these bacteria could
be transferred to bacteria that cause disease. Quantifying
the extent to which this contributes to a food safety
problem is difficult. |
