With the subtitle, “Our War Against Killer Germs,” is a book titled “Deadliest Enemy” by internationally renowned infectious disease epidemiologist Dr. Michael Osterholm from Minnesota.

I don’t have the space to list all of Dr. Osterholm’s titles, positions and recognitions, so, suffice it to say that when he writes a book about killer germs, people pay attention.

Most of the book is about pandemic influenza and other epidemics that could shut the globe down for a long period of time, and viruses for which we have little or no protection or treatment.

And, of course, a book about killer germs must include a chapter or two on antibiotic resistant bacteria and how the use of antibiotics in raising farm animals for food contributes to that risk.

And here is where I beg to differ with Mike on his writing style.

“We believe antibiotic dosing for growth is being phased out in the United States, but how much is unclear.”

The book was published this year, 2017. All in the animal production business know that the use of antibiotics important to human health for growth promotion ceased to exist on January 1, 2017.

How much is used for growth in the United States is zero, Dr. Osterholm.

“The United States, Canada, and Europe use about 30 percent of our antibiotics on humans. The rest we use on animals…we kill for food…”

No mention of ionophores being a large part of that total number, and never approved for human use.

But he goes on to lament the growing use of antibiotics in animals world-wide, especially in China and India where “serious regulatory oversight is virtually nonexistent.”

In New Delhi, the Centre for Science and Environment found that 40 % of chicken meat bought in the city’s markets in 2014 contained antibiotic residue.

In India, many of the largest chicken growers supplying McDonald’s and KFC outlets use serious combinations of major antibiotics, including fluoroquinolones and colistin that is “just stupidity on a scale that defies all imagination” to quote Dr. Timothy Walsh, professor of medical microbiology at Cardiff University in Wales.

Sir Alexander Fleming, M.D. and the discoverer of penicillin once said; “The thoughtless person playing with penicillin treatment is morally responsible for the death of the man who finally succumbs to infection with the penicillin-resistant organism. I hope the evil can be averted.”

I will conclude today’s book review, and promise no more in the near future, with this quote from Osterholm:

“Focusing only on reducing antibiotic consumption in the United States, Canada, and the European Union would be like patching three square feet of the twelve-foot-square hole the iceberg ripped in the Titanic’s hull and congratulating ourselves that we once again have a seaworthy vessel.”

The book is full of scary scenarios. I did not sleep well while reading it.

Deadliest enemy

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