However, a more sinister issue lurks in the heart of the farming and healthcare industries -- the rising danger of antibiotic resistance. In September last year, a Nevada woman in her 70s died from an infection caused by bacteria resistant to all available antibiotics. In 2015, bacteria resistant to the last-resort antibiotic colistin, and possessing the ability to transfer those properties to other species, was discovered. The resistant microbes of today, obstinate as they are, could largely still be treated by using different, stronger classes of antibiotics. The world before antimicrobials was a grim landscape, where an infection from a simple scratch could lead to amputation or death.

Source: Forbes March 06, 2017 03:06 UTC