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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 The illnesses caused by these germs are especially common in hospitals among patients whose immune systems are weakened.
The study authors looked for signs of drug resistance by looking at enterococcus bacteria found in stool samples from 105 newly hospitalized patients and 65 healthy vegetarians, all living in the Midwest.
They also looked for signs of drug-resistance in enterococcus bacteria found in 77 samples of ordinary poultry from retail stores and 23 samples of poultry raised without antibiotics.
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The findings of the study, which was funded by the federal government, are published in the Nov. 1 issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
The researchers said they did not find any sign that the humans had developed resistance to Synercid from eating poultry. However, they said that "plenty" of drug-resistant enterococcus was found in poultry treated with antibiotics, Belongia said.
Furthermore, 38 percent of the hospitalized patients had a genetic trait that might make it easier for them to develop resistance to Synercid; none of the vegetarians had the trait.
Patients who ate the most chicken seemed most susceptible to developing immunity to the drug, as did those who touched poultry.
Right now, this isn't a major problem because Synercid isn't used a great deal, Belongia said. That means germs haven't had a chance to become immune to it.
"But that could change," he said.
Belongia believes that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration should take the findings into account. In a written statement, Belongia said that antibiotics should not be used to promote growth in animals.
"This research makes a strong case for limiting the use of antibiotics in food-producing animals," added Marten, the epidemiologist. "By using antibiotics for strictly therapeutic purposes (such as treating an infection), rather than as a growth promoter, we will slow the emergence of drug-resistant organisms in human populations."
More information:
Learn more about drug resistance from the World Health Organization (www.who.int ).
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