ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE: AN OLD PROBLEM WITH NEW RAMIFICATIONS

CNN - A post-antibiotic era is hardly an "apocalyptic fantasy," the World Health Organization has said. The idea that key antibiotics could be rendered useless against even minor infections "is instead a very real possibility for the 21st century.". But the problem goes back much further. Researchers in France recently looked at historical samples of one salmonella strain dating back as far as 1911. What they found: The genes that make these bacteria resistant to a drug called ampicillin emerged before that antibiotic even went on sale in 1961. The researchers say this is probably due to another antibiotic that was used in low doses to promote growth in farm animals. That antibiotic, penicillin G, which was widely added to livestock feed in the '50s and '60s...>>>