The air in a modern farm building contains many bacteria that are invulnerable to several antibiotics, according to a new report. The finding suggests that drug-resistant microbes can spread by air from animals to people.
WHEN PATHOGENS FLY. Drug-resistant bacteria can permeate the air in livestock facilities, where animals are fed antibiotics. K. Hammond/USDA
Bacteria on farms develop resistance to antibiotics commonly used to accelerate growth of or prevent and treat infections, says environmental microbiologist Kellogg Schwab of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
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