In the Gulf fish “treated” with antibiotics – breaking latest news

Bacteria resistant to antibiotics are present in some fish products caught near the outlets of sewers or purification plants, but also in some meat, beef and pork, coming from abroad. These are the results of some first studies by the Department of Veterinary Medicine of the Federico II University of Naples, which also concerned the Salerno coast. Among the controlled products there are some cuttlefish and octopus caught, for example, in the stretch of the Trieste seafront, in front of the central post office. As in other areas of the Campania coast, near sea sewer outlets or purifiers, researchers have found bacteria inside the cephalopods that are resistant to antibiotics. The same happened with some imported meats, coming from some countries of Eastern Europe and Asia. “Unfortunately, the abuse of antibiotics in humans and animals is producing germs that are now resistant to drugs and antibiotic resistance will be the biggest problem of the future for humans and living beings in general”, underlined Professor Giuseppe Iovane, professor of infectious diseases at Federico II, department of veterinary medicine and animal production, one of the leading European experts in the field of zoonoses, infections of animal origin that are transmitted directly to humans.
From man to fish: the vicious tour. A good part of the antibiotics taken by humans are eliminated in the urine and feces and reach the environment. The purifiers are not equipped for a total purification of these specific chemicals which therefore end up in the sea. Even worse if there are untreated sewage drains. Eaten by fish, these resistance factors have a step in the food chain. The same happened with meat from Eastern Europe and Asia: recently a superbug, the “New Delhi”, a klebsiella, had contaminated meat from China and arrived in Tuscany.
The Italian case and prevention. “I must start by saying that Italy has a national plan to combat antimicrobial resistance and a highly developed culture in controls, so all companies are subject to inspections by veterinarians”, recalled the Salerno teacher. Professor Iovane explained that “through a system called” Classifarm “you can know in real time the consumption of antibiotics in each farm of all animals (meat and fish, ed) compared to the regional and national average and therefore is able to give a precise map of consumption, especially for life-saving drugs, such as vancomycin and colistin which are monitored and will soon be eliminated from animal farms “.
The recommendations. In order to avoid feeding the antibiotic resistance of bacteria, the professor of infectious diseases recommends «not to take drugs without a doctor’s prescription. We must avoid the “do it yourself” of sore throat or fever, by taking antibiotics recommended by word of mouth or by tradition. It should be remembered that many pathologies are viral and antibiotics have no effect on these, or rather they have one, that of damaging those who take them and the environment ”. The expert strongly emphasizes the need to «wash your hands well after handling each single food. The passage of any bacteria usually occurs in contact with the infected fish or meat to the hands that work it. Just wash them, store the various foods separately and cook them to avoid problems. The greatest danger for the transmission of these bacteria to man, in fact, is in the manipulation and not in the ingestion once they are cooked ». Given the spread of restaurants that prepare fish or raw meat dishes, the teacher says: «Meat and fish should preferably be eaten cooked. It can also be done raw but when traceability is undoubted ». Hence the need to comply with all the safety principles of the food chain and that this can always be reconstructed by those who carry out a control, from production to the administration of food. Every time traceability is interrupted, in fact, there is not only the danger of commercial fraud but the consumer also risks from a health point of view. And Iovane also points out that Italian meat and fish productions are «among the most controlled in the world. We Italians discover many things that don’t work just because we carry out an enormous amount of checks, which make Made in Italy production among the safest in the world ».
Salvatore De Napoli
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