By MEGGIE I. FOSTER
Assistant Editor

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Last week, CBS Evening News with Katie Couric aired a controversial and speculative two-part series on the use of antibiotics in farm animals – causing quite a stir among U.S. veterinarians, farm groups and livestock producers.

“The CBS report was quite interesting because it was so short on facts and long on speculation,” said Richard Carnevale, veterinarian and vice president of regulatory, scientific and international affairs for the Animal Health Institute.

To view or read the transcript of the CBS series, go to www.cbsnews.com and search for “animal antibiotics.”

Couric makes several conclusions throughout the two-part special, including that humans are getting sick from pigs infected with Methicillin-Resistant Staph Aureus (MRSA); antibiotics are being overused for unnecessary purposes in animals; bacteria that becomes resistant to antibiotics is dangerous to handle and or consume and that meat from animals who do not receive antibiotics is healthier and safer to eat.

“They’re looking at just one piece of the chain, there are many, many steps from the farm to the fork with very little pathogenic material being left in the end,” said Scott Hurd, senior epidemiologist for the College of Veterinary Medicine at the Iowa State University and former USDA deputy undersecretary for food safety. “I’d say there’s very little risk to humans.”

According to the CBS report, “a University of Iowa study last year found a new strain of Methicillin-Resistant Staph Aureus – in nearly three-quarters of hogs (70 percent), and nearly two-thirds of the workers (64 percent) – on several farms in Iowa and western Illinois. All of them use antibiotics, routinely. On antibiotic-free farms, no MRSA was found.”

“First, this was a very small pilot study, which sampled fewer than 300 pigs. In it, only six farms used antibiotic-free production methods,” explained Hurd. “The implication that this type of production is always free of MRSA is not true as there have been organic farms in other countries that have been found to be 100 percent positive for MRSA.”

Hurd also said that the CBS report failed to cite the second study conducted by the University of Iowa on MRSA that found conventional farms with MRSA rates in pigs of 23 percent, not 70 percent. In personnel, the rate was 58 percent, not “nearly two-thirds.”

“What they also failed to mention is there are at least three general categories of MRSA and the strain in humans that they were discussing is not the same as MRSA that has been found in hogs,” said Hurd.

“The type of MRSA that has been associated with livestock is unique and has not been found in human disease surveillance for MRSA conducted by either the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the University of Iowa hospitals.”

Couric also makes claims that drug-resistant bacteria are now being passed on to consumers by eating and/or handling tainted meat from animals that were given antibiotics.

“Research demonstrates that when MRSA has been found on meat, it is present in extremely low levels,” said Hurd. “Because of this, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the European Food Safety Authority both conclude that the likelihood of MRSA being spread by handling or eating meat is very low. The types of antibiotics used in modern pork production are not associated with the development of MRSA. Methicillin has never been used in animals in the United States.”

Responsible use of antibiotics
Liz Wagstrom, assistant vice president of science and technology for the National Pork Board, who was interviewed by Couric, added that the vast majority of producers are using antibiotics responsibly.
“We know that pork producers have a close relationship with their veterinarian and are using antibiotics in a timely and appropriate manner,” said Wagstrom.

She added that antibiotics are just one part of a producer’s health routine that also includes hygiene, vaccination, ventilation and providing a warm, dry and safe environment to live.

“Our bottom line is that we’re very concerned with the responsible use of antibiotics,” she said. “And we feel that we have control of the issue. We’re working closely with the FDA and have seen bacteria residue decreasing due to the progressive actions of this industry.”

Another claim made during the report is that “no one is really monitoring” antibiotic use.

To the contrary, according to Hurd, the FDA regulates antibiotic use in both humans and animals very closely. In fact, the FDA inspects the feed mills that produce medicated feed and evaluates the safety of antibiotics used in animals for human safety.
“So, it’s clearly a highly regulated practice – one the pork industry has shown a long history of commitment to by demonstrating its ongoing compliance with those regulations that help ensure safe food,” he added.

According to Wagstrom, the Pork Quality Assurance Plus program started by farmers in 1989 has led the way in reinforcing good on-farm practices that help ensure animals are healthy, well cared for and produce safe food.

Wagstrom reinforced the top four messages that consumers should know about antibiotic use in animals:

•Antibiotics are given strategically – administered when pigs are sick, susceptible or exposed to illness.
•Using antibiotics strategically ensures that the safest meat in the world ends up on America’s dinner tables.
•Only antibiotics approved by the FDA are used to treat pigs.
•There is a 20-year history of continuous improvement working with modern farm production to make pork better, healthier and safer to eat.

Danish experiment
During the series, Couric also discusses in detail the Denmark experiment to ban daily antibiotic use on animals.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Danish Pilot Program resulted in an increase in diarrhea in pigs and a 25 percent increase in deaths, added Hurd.

“In fact, many small farmers were driven out of business due to this ban,” he said.

“The number of farms went from 25,000 in 1995 to less than 10,000 in 2005. What appeared to be a ban on antibiotic use in healthy pigs actually pointed out the benefits of its use in helping pigs grow healthy.

Dr. Ellen Silbergeld commented during the report that, “I think the Danish and European experience indicate that there will be real and measurable public health benefits. There’ll be improvements in food safety and actually in the prevalence of drug resistant infections in people.”

Hurd reacted by saying, “The World Health Organization has stated there was no evidence of improved public health.