Resistance to Antibiotics
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Antibiotics are essential to the so-called "miracle" of modern medicine. Now, antibiotic-resistant bacteria have shown up in meat and poultry sold at American grocery stores. Some claim that's evidence that antibiotics are losing their effectiveness because of overuse on American farms. Also, France and Italy join Britain in sending advisors to aid Libyan rebels, and the attack on Greg Mortenson over his book, Three Cups of Tea, and claims of building schools in rural Pakistan.
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Making News
France, Italy and Britain Send Advisors to Aid Libyan Rebels ()
The UN Security Council resolution on Libya prohibits other countries from putting “boots on the ground.” Now the failure of air-strikes to counter Moammar Gadhafi's forces has led Britain, France and Italy to send military liaison officers to advise and train an increasingly desperate opposition. Mark Leon Goldberg is Managing Editor of UN Dispatch.
Guests:
- Mark Leon Goldberg: UN Dispatch, @marklgoldberg
Main Topic
Food Safety and Antibiotics for Healthy Farm Animals ()
Researchers in Arizona sampled meat and poultry sold at grocery stores in Flagstaff, Los Angeles, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale and Washington, DC. What they found has added fuel to the controversy over the use of antibiotics. Factory farmers use antibiotics not just to treat sick animals and prevent them from getting sick, but to make them grow bigger, faster. Last year, the FDA urged the industry to cut back because overuse may make dangerous bacteria resistant to antibiotics. Now antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been found on meat and poultry sold in grocery stores. Does it come from the meat or from human contact? Is it a potential danger in every American kitchen? Is antibiotic effectiveness itself at risk?
Guests:
- Maryn McKenna: Wired.com, @marynmc
- Guy Loneragan: Texas Tech University, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
- James Johnson: University of Minnesota, Infectious Diseases Society of America
- Brad Spellberg: UCLA, Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute
Links:
- McKenna on Translational Genomics Research Institute study of drug-resistant staph in meat samples
- Slaughter on emerging public health crisis, legislation
- McKenna's 'Superbug: The Fatal Menace of MRSA'
- Spellberg's 'Rising Plague: The Global Threat from Deadly Bacteria and Our Dwindling Arsenal to Fight Them'
Reporter's Notebook
Three Cups of Tea or Three Cups of Deceit? ()
Greg Mortenson made an international sensation out of his book about building schools in Pakistan out of gratitude for his treatment by tribesmen after he got lost on a climbing expedition. Now he's accused of lying and making personal use of millions of dollars donated to his charity. Three Cups of Tea has come in for withering criticism from author Jon Krakauer, whose attack is called Three Cups of Deceit. Now, Mortenson's Central Asia Institute is being scrutinized by the attorney general of Montana, where the charity is located. Alex Heard, Editorial Director of Outside magazine, picks up the story.
Guests:
- Alex Heard: Outside magazine
Links:
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