Reuters — McDonald’s Corp. said Tuesday it plans to reduce the use of antibiotics in its global beef supply, fueling projections that other restaurants will follow suit. The move by the world’s biggest fast-food chain addresses concerns that the overuse of antibiotics vital to fighting human infections in farm animals may diminish the drugs’ effectiveness […] Read more
McDonald’s to curb antibiotic use in its beef supply
Abstain from romaine: Canada, U.S. warn on E. coli in lettuce
Reuters — Public health officials in the U.S. and Canada on Tuesday warned against eating romaine lettuce while they investigate an outbreak of E. coli that has sickened 50 people in the two countries, including 13 who were hospitalized. The alerts, issued as millions of Americans plan their Thanksgiving Day menus, covered all forms of […] Read more
EU backs plan to tackle antimicrobial resistance
Brussels | Reuters — EU member states backed a plan on Wednesday to combat antimicrobial resistance, an increasing global health issue, that would reduce the use of antibiotics in the food chain and limit certain drugs to humans. Antimicrobial resistance threatens the effectiveness of medicines such as antibiotics to treat infections in humans, as bacteria […] Read more
U.S. study links bumblebee declines to fungicide use
A new look at the environmental factors around declining bumblebee populations and ranges points to a less-than-usual suspect: fungicides. “Insecticides work; they kill insects. Fungicides have been largely overlooked because they are not targeted for insects, but fungicides may not be quite as benign — toward bumblebees — as we once thought,” Scott McArt, assistant […] Read more
Chicken farmers to expand phase-out of antibiotics
The national body for Canada’s chicken producers has set new targets to phase out preventive use of the antimicrobials deemed next-to-most important in human medicine. Chicken Farmers of Canada (CFC) on Tuesday announced that, following the “successful elimination” of Category I antibiotics for disease prevention in chickens, its antimicrobial use strategy will next focus on […] Read more
Microbiome research an important step in beef cattle research
Cattle’s internal microbiome another place where diseases develop
Reading Time: 3 minutes Microbiome research could help answer a lot of questions about respiratory and liver abscess disease. The microbiome, a collection of bacteria, could be another place where diseases develop. “When we’re talking about respiratory diseases, a lot of the bugs that cause respiratory disease are there all the time,” Beef Cattle Research Council science director Reynold […] Read more
Bovine TB quarantines push into Saskatchewan
Two farms in southwestern Saskatchewan have been added to the list of those under federal quarantine as inspectors widen their search for cattle exposed to a new-to-Canada strain of bovine tuberculosis (TB). As of Thursday, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said it had “approximately 33” farms in Alberta and two in Saskatchewan under quarantine. The […] Read more
Little-known infection could be widespread
The infection, which can affect both animals and livestock handlers, usually doesn’t produce symptoms but can sometimes be very serious
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s an under-reported disease and people who catch it often don’t show any symptoms. But an Alberta medical doctor still wants to know more. Q fever, known as coxiella, is an infection that can affect livestock handlers and their animals. “In Alberta, we only have about six human cases a year that are recognized — […] Read more
Producers careful with antimicrobials, survey finds
Only 20 per cent of those surveyed ever used antimicrobials important in human medicine, but some resistance was found
Reading Time: 2 minutes Cow-calf producers are being careful with antimicrobials — and that’s a good news story the industry needs to share with consumers, says one of the researchers of a groundbreaking study of cattle production on the Prairies. The cattle health network, which has been tracking production practices of more than 100 cow-calf producers since 2012, found […] Read more
U.S. sees first case of bacteria resistant to last-resort antibiotic
Reuters — U.S. health officials on Thursday reported the first case in the country of a patient with an infection resistant to a last-resort antibiotic, and expressed grave concern that the superbug could pose serious danger for routine infections if it spreads. “We risk being in a post-antibiotic world,” said Thomas Frieden, director of the […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
