Antibiotic Use on Livestock Farms Linked to Resistant Infections Near Farms

People who live in close proximity to pig farms are more likely to pick up antibiotic-resistant infections than those who live farther away. Livestock farms are producing more than they intend to. As well as raising chickens, cows and pigs, these farms are also unwittingly rearing dangerous microorganisms that are resistant to antibiotics.

These microbes pose a threat not just to farmers’ livelihoods, but also to the health of farm workers and people in their wider community. Public reaction to the use of antibiotics in agriculture has often focused on the welfare of animals and the people who consume their meat.

Many health-conscious shoppers now try to avoid meat from animals that have been given antibiotics, even though there is conflicting data about whether this consumption presents a risk to humans.

What is becoming clear, however, is that antibiotics endanger the health of people who work on farms.