Bacteria in Factory Farms

On Tuesday, CBS Evening News’ Katie Couric investigated the human-health risks associated with the use of antibiotics in factory farming. The report specifically focused on Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus (MRSA), a form of antibiotic-resistant staph that can be life threatening due to difficulties in finding treatments. Thirty-seven workers at a poultry processing plant in Bakesville, Ark., contracted MRSA within weeks of each other, and 64 percent of workers at hog farms in Iowa and Western Illinois showed signs of infection during a separate study. MRSA develops around farmed animals who are given antibiotics to accelerate their growth and to prevent the spread of disease, and can be spread through water runoff, physical contact, or as an airborne bacteria.