According to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, MRSA is the direct result of three major events:
• Overuse of antibiotics by the healthcare sector to treat minor, self-limited illnesses
• Antibiotic spread into the food chain and water supply from agriculture and human waste
• The normal (and essential) property of bacterial mutation and genetic sharing
In short, MRSA is a direct result of human activity [1.] in the health, medicine, agriculture, and hygiene industries. The crisis is caused by a society-wide over-reliance on these drugs. The current problem is completely iatrogenic. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are the direct result of an antibiotic-abusing world that has normalized the overuse of these drugs in agriculture, medicine, and hygiene. [2.]
Agribusiness is a heavy contributor to the antibiotic problem. Antibiotics are routinely utilized in agriculture and veterinary industries to suppress infections and to stimulate livestock growth. In the United States, over 25 million pounds of antibiotics are consumed annually (compared with 3 million pounds prescribed by the medical profession each year). [3.]
These agents are frequently added to animal feed to stimulate growth and to suppress infection. As a result, significant antibiotic residues enter the food supply and the water table. [4.] Many outbreaks of human illness caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been traced directly to these sources. [5.]
The beauty and hygiene industries have also contributed to the current antibiotic dilemma. Both these groups foster and cater to a growing public anxiety that all bacteria in the environment pose a threat to human health. Through strategic marketing tactics, the public is kept in a state of fear and is told that the solution lies in even greater use of antiseptic and antibiotic products in personal hygiene.
These industries market products in the form of antibiotic soaps and cleaning products to "sanitize and sterilize" the body. The result is an increase in the antibiotic-resistance problem. [6.]
The advertising industry contributes to this crisis by promoting a societal fear of bacteria, and suggesting that cleanliness and sterility (with respect to bacteria) not only improves personal health, but also is socially responsible and makes one more attractive and sexy. Beauty, attractiveness, and sexuality are the main marketing tools utilized to sell these products. Collective paranoia and fear of appearing unattractive or unsanitary drives greater consumption and increases reliance on these products.
Next: Part 5 of an eight-part series: The Emergence of MRSA
References:
[1.] http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mrsa/DS00735
[2.] Hecker M, et al, Unnecessary Use of Antimicrobials in Hospitalized Patients: Current Patterns of Misuse with an Emphasis on the Antianaerobic Spectrum of Activity, Archives of Internal Medicine 163, 2003:972–78.
[3.] Union of Concerned Scientists, Hogging It! Estimates of Antimicrobial Abuse in Livestock, January 2001, executive summary xiii, www.ucsusa.org/food_and_environment/antibiotics_and_food/hogging-it-estimates -of-antimicrobial-abuse-in-livestaock.html
[4.] Meyer M, et al, Occurrence of Antibiotics in Surface and Ground Water Near Confined Animal Feeding Operations and Waste Water Treatment Plants Using Radioimmunoassay and Liquid Chromatography/Electrospray Mass Spectrometry, U.S. Geological Survey, Raleigh, NC.
[5.] Manges A, et al, Widespread Distribution of Urinary Tract Infections Caused by a Multidrug-Resistant Escherichia Coli Clonal Group, NEJM 2001, 345:1055–57.
[6.] The Trouble with Antibacterial Agents, Health, and Medical News, Hippocrates, November 1998:15.
Ronald D. Whitmont, M.D., is a board-certified internist with a private practice of classical homeopathy in New York.
Dr. Whitmont's Web site
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