"Super Bugs" Have Invaded Our Meat

BOSTON — As each day brings more news of anthrax contamination, health officials have sought to reassure an anxious public by emphasizing that antibiotics such as Cipro have proved effective against this infection. It's not surprising, given the fear level, that many Americans are stockpiling antibiotics. But while antibiotics may indeed seem like our saviors in the shadow of anthrax, widespread usage itself carries dangers that extend far beyond the current crisis.

It's an inescapable law of nature that the use of antibiotics leads to the development of "super bugs"--resistant germs that are not just hardier but also more dangerous than their ancestors. The notion that bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics is no longer just an interesting research question: It has become a concrete and urgent fear as we contemplate what would happen in the event of an all-out biological assault. We cannot afford to squander the effectiveness of antibiotics by misuse.

The heavy traffic in Cipro in the anthrax era has spotlighted the problem of antibiotic-resistant germs. But while we focus on the looming consequences of abusing Cipro and the excessive prescription of antibiotics in general, the agriculture industry has already created its own "super bugs" through routine use of low-dose antibiotics in livestock feed. This practice is more insidious because most consumers are unaware of its already serious consequences.

For nearly half a century, low doses of antibiotics have been routinely given to healthy farm animals and poultry to hasten their growth and thereby increase profits. We know this practice is ubiquitous, but there is much we don't know. Manufacturers of livestock antibiotics are not required to release production figures, so we have no accurate means of gauging the amount of antibiotics consumed each year by the nation's farm animals.

One conservative estimate is that half of the total antibiotics produced in the U.S. are administered to animals, mostly for growth promotion. Other estimates are much higher. The Union of Concerned Scientists recently calculated that 24.6 million pounds of antibiotics are given annually to pigs, chickens and cows to promote their growth and another 2 million pounds for treating their diseases: By comparison, 3 million pounds are given to humans. Whichever figures are accepted, it is fair to state that substantial amounts of antibiotics are administered to food animals for growth promotion, not for their intended purpose, to treat infectious diseases.