Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Found Downwind Of TX Cattle Feedyards - It's Airborne

[hatrack]

TYLER, TX (KLTV) - A super bug found in Texas cattle yards has become airborne, and scientists worry it could not only spread quickly to other cattle across the state, but also to humans. Researchers at Texas Tech University discovered an antibiotic-resistant bacteria in several cattle yards near Lubbock. They also found it in air downwind of the yards.

“Making it airborne, you know, you consider that, and it's something that could hurt,” Jeremy Mcleod, who owns nearly 200 cattle in East Texas, said.

He explained the cattle community in East Texas hasn't heard about this antibiotic-resistant airborne bacteria yet, but he's always checking with the USDA and monitoring potential threats. “It's on the radar for sure and I think that that's just a good cattleman. You're going to always be watching out for your cows and thinking about things that could help,” he said.

Researchers said this is the first time something like this has been found in the air. The West Texas area has more cattle than East Texas, however, and also more wind. “The smaller particles are able to stay suspended in the air for a longer period of time and are therefore able to travel much greater distances,” Philip Smith, one of the researchers, said.

EDIT

http://www.kltv.com/story/28654796/airborne-super-bug-could-spread-to-east-texas-cattle-humans

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

1. Yet another reason to get busy on that lab grown beef.

Imagine... a world without 'slaughterhouses'.

[Bohunk68]

2. "Researchers said,"

Can't be the first time. Just read an article in the past couple of days about taking cloud samples and discovering bacteria in them. Wish I had saved the article, it also stated that a large % of cloud-borne particles were bacteria.

[valerief]

5. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the clouds? Or good bacteria? nt

[Bohunk68]

6. Just recalled where I saw the item. It was in the Science News

February 7, 2015 edition. Pg 5. ............"Researchers have discovered that a cloud-dwelling microbe, in this case a species of Bacillus bacteria, can eat up sugars floating around in the atmosphere." It was discovered in the clouds above the Auvergne region of France.

[valerief]

7. Interesting. Is that a threat? I'm no scientist, so I haven't a clue. But I found this.

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/19/when-life-goes-cloudy/

[Bohunk68]

9. From the article:

The research "team provided a feast of carbohydrates commonly kicked into the atmosphere by earthlings. The bacteria broke down the heavenly sweets and reused the molecular rubbl as building blocks for protective polysaccharide coatings. Those coatings, which may shield cloud-living microbes from ultraviolt radiation and frigid temperatures, may also spur droplet formation in clouds, which could alter atmospheric processes, the researchers report November 12 in Environmental Science and Technology magazine."

[valerief]

10. I wonder if that's how cloud-seeding is done. Must look that up now. Thanks. nt

[GliderGuider]

12. that doesn't sound very good, does it?

[Nihil]

13. "DU poster said" has even less credibility than what you appeared to be trying to suggest ...

Finding bacteria in clouds is not a problem per se and, as noted, is not particularly new.

Finding antibiotic-resistant bacteria as the direct result of the greed of corporate "farmers" is a problem.

[marym625]

3. YIKES!

K&R!

[Sunlei]

4. dust from sahara deserts travel around the world. feedlot ranchers didn't understand manure also

turns to dust and winds away?

hey what is that stink?

[mountain grammy]

8. It's the tiniest life forms that'll get us.

[Orrex]

11. Quick! Call the Anglo-Saxons!

They'll know what to do!

Hwaet!