Oral

It has long been acknowledged that human and animal health are integrally connected. Emerging science makes the point more clearly than before, however, that infectious diseases now threatening the human population are better understood by considering the radically altered dynamic among humans, food animals, and disease-causing microbes. Farms and farm animals once existed largely as closed-loop, low-waste systems, with livestock and crops co-existing and nourishing one another on relatively small farms. Today’s dominant industrial model of livestock and poultry production instead is characterized by high animal density, indoor confinement on an often-vast scale, huge concentrations of manure and litter disposed of as waste, and antimicrobials overused as feed additives to spur more rapid growth and compensate for these stressful conditions. Recent science highlights the public health risks of this model. This session's presentations will examine new science suggesting links between these “animal factories” and outbreaks of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections, E. coli urinary tract infections, and C. difficile colitis. They will also consider the emerging connection between industrial poultry operations and the looming influenza pandemic. Finally, the session will explore policy and private sector solutions that could help address these serious public health threats.

Session Objectives: 1. Describe new scientific evidence that intensive, industrialized meat production is linked to food-borne outbreaks of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections, E. coli urinary tract infections, and C. difficile colitis. 2. Discuss the role of intensive, confined poultry production in the development of more virulent avian influenza strains. 3. Identify solutions to alleviate the public health threats posed by intensive animal agriculture.

CE Credits: CME, Health Education (CHES), Nursing