Health/Science Interview--NPR
Description
Vocal Characteristics
Language
EnglishVoice Age
Middle Aged (35-54)Accents
North American (General)Transcript
Note: Transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and may contain errors.
Hello and welcome to health dialogues on K VCR San Bernardino Riverside Antibiotics have been called Wonder Drugs because of their effectiveness against some of the world's deadliest diseases. But overuse has caused a growing problem of antibiotic resistance and both human and animal populations. We're joined today by Dr Joe Bertone, professor of equine medicine at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona. Welcome, Dr Bertone. Thank you. Thank you for inviting me. The use of antibiotics in human medicine is quite modern. Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in the 19 twenties, and the general use began in World War Two to treat wounds. When were antibiotics first used in livestock populations? I would imagine, Ah, it might be in the forties or so late forties, etcetera. It would be very difficult to identify exactly the point at which that occurred because none of the antibiotics at the at that point we're actually approved for use in animals, and so there would be very little recordkeeping. Teoh determine that now. No antibiotic yet discovered is 100% effective. A small percentage of germs will always be resistant. Please explain for our listeners how this resistance works well. Resistance works by selecting for a population of organisms that do not that either metabolize the drug and destroy its efficacy or simply do do not have the mechanisms to absorb the drug and induce the and use those drugs in the row. Metabolism. Almost invariably, all antibiotics work by entering the metabolic cycles of of bacteria, and all in one way to are two ways to develop resistance is one to destroy the antibiotic before it can do that, or simply not absorb the drug. Would a germ strong enough to resist one antibiotic be more likely to resist other antibiotics as well?