Soil Bacteria Thrive on Antibiotics: A Potential Reservoir of Antibiotic-Resistance
by Tim McGee, Helena, MT, USA on 04. 3.08
Soil bacteria have thumbed their ‘nose’ at antibiotics this week. A surprising study in the journal Science shows that soil bacteria can thrive on antibiotics alone. The bacteria apparently have no problem using our most trusted weapons against them as food. What is worse, these close relatives to human pathogens might serve as a reservoir of resistance to the bacteria that plague humanity.
We are in an expensive arms race with bacteria. Developing new antibiotics that rapidly become useless, only to develop more. But the race with bacteria costs more than just money, it is a life and death situation, and one we are rapidly loosing. Antibiotics, from soap to feedlots are showing up in our water and soil, causing unknown environmental and human health issues in the process. It’s time to stop thinking of our relationship with bacteria as a war, and look for a different approach.
The primary problem is that we keep trying to kill bacteria. Killing bacteria creates an evolutionary force that drives the bacteria to become resistant. Why are we fighting evolution? Instead of killing bacteria outright in every situation, why not figure out how to be a bit more subtle when possible?
BioSignal is a company that confuses bacteria, instead of killing them. Wine grape extracts have been shown to interfere with the communication between bacteria, preventing them from forming dangerous biofilms. Encouraging ‘good’ bacteria known as probiotics can displace and keep the dangerous bacteria at bay. We have the tools we need to be more tactful and sustainable at handling dangerous bacteria.
Now that we know soil bacteria consider our antibiotics as food:
"Don't Feed The Bacteria"
Creative image credit of 'bacteria' photo goes to denn.
:: Science
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50% of antibiotics = pumped into slaughter houses, dairy farms, egg farms.
Go vegan, go vegan, go vegan.
Or ban the addition of antibiotics into animal feed.
Though going vegan, or consuming only animal products produced without antibiotic feed additives, is not only personally responsible but could bring market pressures to bear on large scale producers to mend their ways. Otherwise you may expect agro lobbies to block any meaningful legislation. Still, for an informed consumer in a wealthy nation, it is possible to avoid or at least drastically reduce consumption of antibiotic-fed animal products without going to the extreme of a vegan diet.
Unfortunately there are overwhelming economic and social pressures for producing mass, low quality food as cheaply as possible. Don't hold your breath waiting for the average livestock farmer to start acting responsibly about antibiotic additives, either. For one thing, it would make intensive pork and chicken farming highly risky, as they are vulnerable to epidemics. Now, the fact that intensive pork and chicken farming is objectionable anyway...
Agreed, pro-biotics help to build the good bacteria which naturally fight the "bad" bacteria.
And of course one thing we must realize is that no technique is perfect for keeping the little guys totally out. Bacteria pervade our world.
Rather than pull our hair out over developing anti-biotics we might just focus on proven techniques... efficient and plentiful rest, nutrition, cleanliness in our water supply and building up the good bacteria in our guts.
All the probiotics in the world will not save you if you are unfortunate enough to acquire an infection requiring antibiotics. Before antibiotics were developed people used to die routinely from animal bites, rusty nail wounds and pneumonia.
The problem is not antibiotics but the carelessness with which they are used and disposed of. Antibiotics should be saved for a time when someone is ill enough, or is at high risk of becoming ill enough to require an intervention. They certainly shouldn't be used to farm beef, and they definitely shouldn't be flushed down the toilet. Until we start using antimicrobials properly we're going to have to keep researching new ones, unless we're all willing to go blind the next time we get a bad eye infection.
@ Supperbox
Just to be clear, I don't think anyone is saying antibiotics are a bad idea.
The point of the article is saying that our relationship to bacteria in every situation need not be 'kill'. And that this reaction in fact is hurting us more than helping us... just look at the emergence of MRSA as an example.
In fact most of the time our relationship to dangerous bacteria should be 'avoid', 'confuse', 'resist' and only when we need to (for example if the above don't work) then we kill. Antibiotics have a very important role, but we can be better about how we think about bacterial infections.
My gramma always said "Now, eat your dirt, honey; it's good for you!". She was a right wise woman indeed.