Katie Couric, Queen of Spunk, Broadcasts Junk!

 A widely known, experienced and respected veterinarian provided a very succinct review of the recent Katie Couric CBS News report on the use of antibiotics in livestock and pretty much proclaimed it hooey, sludge, manure, compost and crud.

Actually, the esteemed livestock expert with more than 36 years of livestock management and care credentials was far more professional and said simply, “the piece is not a factual representation of the scientific, safe, and careful use of antibiotics in animal agriculture.”

But hey, even medical experts can’t avoid the occasional verbal jab when provoked. Dr. Alyn M. McClure, DVM, pointed out the probability of a person experiencing a health treatment failure due to antibiotic use in say swine (piggies) are up to 1 in 53 million. To give that perspective, the odds are 1 in 555,000 you will get struck by lightning or 1 in 6 million you will die from a bee sting.

There is some solace that this irresponsible broadcast news piece ran on a show with ratings in the basement. CBS Evening News with Katie Couric had its lowest viewership yet. In fact, it’s the lowest viewership since at least the 1991/92 season, as far back as Nielsen records track.

Dr. McClure proclaimed the very visible mainstream media report to be “biased and misleading adding….

“I welcome open dialogue and evaluation of our agricultural production practices. It can only make us better. I do ask the evaluation to be scientific and objective, and the reporting to avoid sensationalism, hyperbole, and misleading statements aimed at inflaming opinion.”

 Dr. H. Scott Hurd, Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine, Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine lent credibility to Dr. MClure’s comments in a Point-Counterpoint piece on the ISU web site.

Some key points made by Doc Hurd include:

1. Studies cited by CBS were obscure, small pilot studies from which CBS draws sweeping and unscientific implications.
2. The types of antibiotics used in modern pork production are not associated with the development of methicillin resistant staph or MRSA . Methicillin has never been used in animals in the United States.
3. Countries that have banned growth promotion uses of antibiotics, such as Denmark, have similar levels of MRSA in their livestock herds.
4.  Strategic use of antibiotics in animal agriculture prevents disease and produces safer food. A side benefit of this use is faster growth.
5. Since antibiotics have been used in humans for more than 60 years and in livestock for about 50 years, if there was going to be an epidemic of resistance related to antibiotic use in agriculture it would have occurred by now. The fact that it has not means that antibiotic use in animals is not a major risk to human health.
6. Attempting to link MRSA in livestock with the strain in humans is a leap as there are three separate categories of MRSA.  It is like comparing apples and oranges. 
7. Over use of antibiotics in humans and the failure of people to take their entire prescription is the biggest antibiotic issue we face today.
8. The type of MRSA that has been associated with livestock is unique (known as strain 398). This strain has not been found in human disease surveillance for MRSA conducted by either the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
9. Veterinarians and farmers have spent more than 20 years continually improving their antibiotic use. The results of these improvements are evident in FDA-monitoring studies that show that resistance in target pathogens is stable to declining
10. Research demonstrates that when MRSA has been found in meat, it is present in extremely low levels. Because of this, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the European Food Safety Authority both conclude that the likelihood of MRSA being spread by handling or eating meat is very low.
11.  As always, when meat is handled and cooked properly, there is virtually no risk of becoming sick from a food-borne pathogen. (MRSA is not a food-borne illness, thus testing meat is unnecessary. The CDC and the European Food Safety Authority agree that the risk of MRSA from handling or eating meat is very low
12. Livestock producers use decades of experience, hygiene protocols, diet, nutrition, vaccination and environmental management and yes, strategic use of antibiotics help the animals grow healthier, improve animal well-being and help provide safe foo
13.  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates antibiotic use in both humans and animals.
14. The FDA inspects the feed mills that would produce medicated feed. The agency also evaluates the safety of antibiotics used in animals for human safety. And, the FDA works with the USDA to conduct tests in processing facilities to make sure those regulations for antibiotic use are followed.

…and is case you were wodering the odds are 1 in 18 million you will die from a dog bite. I hope everyone in Vegas eats a porkchop tonight. It may be their best odds of the day.