From David Samuels
Manitoba, Canada
If ever there is going to be a transference with genetic resistance to
antibiotics, the place to look is not down on the farm, but in the bedrooms and
living rooms of the nation.
At the present time, an eight-year-old child can walk into virtually any pet
store in North America and purchase antibiotics across the counter for a few
dollars a pack. Ampicillin, tetracyline, erythromycin and neomycin are just a
few of the widely available drugs.
In most cases the drugs are formulated to be water soluble and used as a
bath. In millions of homes across the continent, every kid with a sick goldfish
will, at some stage, be putting combinations of antibiotics into the fish tank.
As one product fails so another is tried. Eventually the poor fish succumbs and
the whole lot is dumped down the toilet bowl or sink.
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I suspect the total volume of antibiotics sold in the pet fish industry is
quite staggering. It is time someone took a closer look at this widespread
misuse.
