Recent research highlights troubling health risks associated with livestock farms, particularly with antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) found in the air.
A study published in PNAS has shed light on how farmworkers and residents living near these farms may be exposed to high levels of ARGs, which can have serious implications for public health.
Researchers in China conducted extensive sampling of total suspended particles from various environments—pig farms, chicken farms, local residential zones, and urban areas.
Through metagenomic analysis of extracted bacterial DNA, the study sought to compare the health risks associated with air resistomes in livestock farming across different regions.
One key finding revealed that livestock air in Chinese farms is significantly rife with ARGs.
The concentration of these genes was over seven times greater in the air of chicken and pig farms and surrounding residential areas than in urban air samples.
Moreover, farmworkers inhaled an amount of ARGs equivalent to several years’ worth of exposure for urban residents.
Residents living near two specific farms even inhaled over ten times more ARGs daily compared to their urban counterparts.
The study also pointed out that the identified ARGs in livestock air were closely associated with mobile genetic elements, raising concerns about the transmission and spread of antibiotic resistance.
In a comparative analysis with farms in nine European countries, the researchers noted a stark contrast.
The diversity, abundance, and potential health risks from the air resistomes in Chinese farms were found to be significantly higher than in European farms, where antibiotic usage restrictions have been more stringent.
This observation suggests that policies aimed at reducing antibiotic use in food-animal production may effectively mitigate the proliferation of antibiotic resistance in livestock environments.
Despite this, the research found that even in Europe, the risk score for air resistomes was still markedly higher than in other known hot spots, including hospitals and sewage plant air, as well as locations with animal manure and soil.
The researchers emphasized the crucial role of antibiotic stewardship in curbing the spread of antibiotic resistance.
In a separate study, the uptake of the seasonal influenza vaccine among older adults remained relatively stable in recent years, though notable trends emerged among different demographic groups.
As reported in JAMA Network Open, the analysis utilized data from the 2019 and 2022 Medicare Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems surveys, covering over 285,000 respondents aged 65 years or older.
The demographic breakdown indicated 54.5% of respondents were women, with a majority of the sample consisting of White adults (76.2%), followed by Black adults (8.0%), Hispanic adults (6.9%), and Asian or Pacific Islander individuals (4.2%).
Between 2019 and 2022, overall influenza vaccination rates for older adults saw a slight increase of 0.7 percentage points, from 76.3% to 77.0%.
While the vaccination percentages for White and Asian adults remained unchanged, significant improvements were observed among Black and Hispanic adults, particularly those in rural settings.
Specifically, the percentage of Black adults receiving seasonal flu shots increased by 7.0 percentage points, and Hispanic adults by 8.2 percentage points.
In stark contrast, the uptake among White adults in rural areas declined by 2 percentage points during the same period.
This divergence in vaccination rates highlights an area of concern that researchers and policymakers will need to address.
The authors of the study noted the necessity of further research to understand these trends and their underlying causes.
Such insights are crucial for guiding future interventions aimed at improving vaccination rates, particularly among populations with historically lower uptake levels.
Both studies underscore the importance of understanding and addressing public health risks within communities exposed to livestock farming and the dynamics of healthcare access among older populations.
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