I would certainly be inclined to try a daily antibiotic and antiviral (of the most mild type) in perpetuity to see if it helped since the side effects would be much less than from immunosuppressives.
asanta - 21 July 2008 08:41 AM
very VERY VERY bad idea! You would be taking just enough to generate more antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest problem we have in health care, and is caused almost entirely by the misuse and over use of antibiotics.
Then why do we allow farmers to buy them by the bucket and feed them prophylactically to live stock?
I would certainly be inclined to try a daily antibiotic and antiviral (of the most mild type) in perpetuity to see if it helped since the side effects would be much less than from immunosuppressives.
asanta - 21 July 2008 08:41 AM
very VERY VERY bad idea! You would be taking just enough to generate more antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest problem we have in health care, and is caused almost entirely by the misuse and over use of antibiotics.
Then why do we allow farmers to buy them by the bucket and feed them prophylactically to live stock?
Because it yields more product. More food, lower prices.
They actually don’t help that much in putting on weight, just a bit. Those studies originated in the 1950’s, I believe. They help slightly with warding off disease in crowded farm conditions, but are quickly becoming useless. Lessening crowded conditions and improving sanitation would be effective as well (not to mention better for the animal’s welfare.) Some countries, Denmark I believe is one of them, have already banned antibiotic use in healthy animals.
Subtherapeutic antibiotics in animal feed are not used to reduce mortality or to increase reproductive output, and they are only partly intended as prophylaxis against infectious disease. The selection below for the USDA APHIS explains the purpose and proposed mechanism. It is essentially about efficiency of conversion of feed to meat. The problem is the likely development of antibiotic resistant bacteria. This doesn’t necessarily reduce the efficacy of the antibiotics for feed conversion, but it does reduce their efficacy for treatment of disease in humans in animals.
Oral antibiotics, especially those that act on Gram
positive organsms, became widely used at sub-therapeutic levels for their consistent ability to
improve the growth of livestock (Crawford, 1983; Droumev, 1983). While part of the reason for
this practice is to reduce the risk of disease, it is also accepted that regular intake of oral
antibiotics as feed additives has a direct nutrient sparing effect and reduces the production of urea,
methane, and ammonia in the intestine, among other effects (Visek, 1978; Walton, 1983). The
rationale for the use of antibiotics as growth promoters has been established (Luetzow, 1997). A
modulating effect on either the metabolic activity of certain intestinal micro-organisms, or a shift
of the balance of the microbial ecosystem, which constitutes an essential part of mammalian
digestion, is the proposed mechanism of action. These effects are observed at use levels which are
far lower than those achieved in therapeutic use. More efficient digestion during the
administration of low levels of anti-microbials decreases the amount of feed necessary to raise and
to fatten domestic animals.
Another reason to feed the livestock antibiotic would be to enable them to survive on the unnatural feed we force upon them. Cattle are herbivores and not grain eaters (there is a big difference), the antibiotics lessen the side effects caused by feeding animals food they were not evolved to eat.
Subtherapeutic antibiotics in animal feed are not used to reduce mortality or to increase reproductive output, and they are only partly intended as prophylaxis against infectious disease. The selection below for the USDA APHIS explains the purpose and proposed mechanism. It is essentially about efficiency of conversion of feed to meat. The problem is the likely development of antibiotic resistant bacteria. This doesn’t necessarily reduce the efficacy of the antibiotics for feed conversion, but it does reduce their efficacy for treatment of disease in humans in animals.
