"Warnings as Salmonella Strains Resist Antibiotics"

"Washington -- A virulent outbreak of salmonella poisoning traced to three Foster Farms chicken plants in the Central Valley has peculiar features that food safety experts said should alarm regulators and consumers alike -- in particular, the number of people who are coming down with a form of the disease that is resistant to antibiotics."



"'We've been warning for a long time, but we are about to reach a serious, critical mass here,' said Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., who has tried for a decade to restrict the use of antibiotics in food animals.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the outbreak has sickened 317 people, 73 percent of them in California, with strains of salmonella Heidelberg that resist multiple antibiotics."

Carolyn Lochhead reports for the San Francisco Chronicle October 15, 2013.

SEE ALSO:

"Shutdown Salmonella Outbreak Continues. CDC Food Safety Chief: ‘We Have a Blind Spot.’" (Wired)

"The Ills of the Government Shutdown" (New Yorker)

"Salmonella And the Shutdown: CDC Furloughs Harm Public Health" (Los Angeles Times)

"Chicken Salmonella Outbreak Becomes Symbol of Federal Shutdown" (Los Angeles Times)

"Can We Please Reopen the Centers for Disease Control Before an Epidemic?" (Atlantic Wire)

"Rep. Louise Slaughter Says 80% of Antibiotics Are Fed To Livestock" (Politifact)

"Government Shutdown Worst-Case Scenario Realized: Salmonella Outbreak" (Politico)

Source: San Francisco Chronicle, 10/16/2013