Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are becoming airborne and experts traced their source to Texas cattle ranches. Texas Tech university researchers discovered this after examining particulate matter in the air. They found antibiotic-resistant bacteria as well as antibiotics in the samples taken from a place downwind from cattle ranches.
Health experts are now worried that these bacteria carried by the wind could go to populated areas and may pose as threats to the treatments for potentially deadly diseases. Past reports said that too much antibiotics were used in cattle to lengthen their lives and improve yields.
The researchers in the study analyzed 10 cattle yards near Lubbock, Texas and found that all of the samples contain antibiotic oxytetracycline, and 60 percent also contained tetracycline and chlortetracycline, Popular Science reports.
"To our knowledge, this study is among the first to detect and quantify antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant genes ... associated with airborne PM emitted from beef cattle feed yards," environmental toxicology researchers at Texas Tech University told Tech Times.
They also added that the emergence of superbugs which are resistant to antibiotics can be traced in the use of antibiotics in cattle stocks. Now, potentially deadly diseases that are resistant to treatments are becoming a health threat to the public.
Tech Times further reported that around 2 million people in the United States get sick with drug-resistant superbugs. Treatments were deemed useless for many of these infections. An estimated 23,000 die due to these diseases.
What the researchers fear, however, is that these particulates in the air could travel long distances not only across states, but countries and could affect the health of millions of people. Even if their study did not tackle how far these particulates could travel, they are hoping that future researches would focus on the distance these micoorganisms could travel and ways on how to halt potential health threats in the air.
