Vermin Mutants Are Among Us

Did you know that almost 70 percent of all antibiotics used in the United States are used on farm animals to avert bacterial infections and enable them to grow bigger faster? Now, as if it wasn't bad enough that Americans have to eat this antibiotic-riddled animal flesh, a new problem is surfacing. The bacteria the antibiotics are supposed to be preventing are developing resistance to the drugs, and flies are spreading the resistant bacteria, based upon finding by researcher Jay Graham of Johns Hopkins University.

Some humans exposed to the strains of resistant bacteria picked up from chicken dropping have been reported to develop illnesses such as meningitis. To prevent further spread farmers are recommended to sterilize their animals' waste using techniques similar to how human sewage is treated. No government mandate to encourage such participation is in force and the sterilization process is expensive, therefore it is believed that minimum observation of this recommendation is actually carried out.

Rats are also developing a resistance to the poisons they have been fed over the past 60 years and a mutant species is developing that becomes stronger from ingesting the rat killer. According to research by Simone Rost of the University of Wurzburg in Germany, the rodent community has developed immunity to warfarin and its counterparts, the leading rodenticides used around the world. Most rat poisons were designed to inhibit blood clotting in the rodent and cause fatal internal bleeding.

Rost has discovered a series of small mutations in some species of rats' genetic code that allows them to survive, even after exposure to high doses of warfarin and other rodenticides. Either stronger more effective rat poisons must be formulated or alternative means to containing the vermin must be invented. Rost believes the rats will develop immunity to any chemicals they are exposed to therefore alternative eradication solutions are the best bet. Wild rodents harbor multiple germs and bacteria that does cause illness and death in humans. Curtailing their growth is essential.

Piggeries in the Philippines were ordered by their government to euthanize over 6,500 pigs from farms infected with a new strain of Ebola virus that jumped from the pig to the farmers. This is not the same type of deadly Ebola virus strain found in Africa, according to Pierre Rollins of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this is just a cousin. In humans it creates flu like symptoms and is believed passed from the swine to humans by coughing on them. Known as Ebola-Reston, it was originally found in Philippine monkeys around 1989 and has since infiltrated other species of animals in the provinces. Scientists surmised the swine epidemic of Ebola-Reston was caused by contagious bats that urinated in the pig's water supply.

Attack of the mutant farm animal or vermin used to be science fiction fodder. Now it is science fact. Here's the plot, genetic mutant super rats that cannot be killed by poison discover an airborne disease strains that jumps from monkey to bats, from bats to pigs, and from pigs to people, and a bacteria resistant animal feces that also spreads disease to humans and use it to take over the world. Wouldn't you want to go see that movie? Just look around you because that is where it is happening.

Resource: Animal Attack - Popular Science - June, 2009

Disease and conditions, health and wellness, diet and fitness