>until the antibiotic washes out. This is part of the problem. If animals are gi... | Hacker News

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Accujack on Dec 16, 2019 | parent | context | favorite | on: Biopharma has abandoned antibiotic development

>until the antibiotic washes out.

This is part of the problem. If animals are given the antibiotics, then their waste products contain them, and piles of manure or water runoff/storm drains/wastewater ponds form a giant evolutionary experiment for development of drug resistant organisms.

They're not just a problem while they're in animals, they're a problem if they're used at all.

heavyset_go on Dec 17, 2019 [–]

Apparently, most antibiotics don't undergo metabolism in animals, and 40-90% of ingested antibiotics in livestock are excreted in urine and feces[1].

Those antibiotics go on to contaminate groundwater, and as you say, contribute significantly to antibiotic resistance[2].

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4220964/

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antibiotic_use_in_livestock#An...

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