> From: Lynton Blair <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Sunday, November 23, 1997 8:41 AM

> [...]
>What I would like to know is where this " key anti-microbial drug" is used,
>and why after many  years suddenly people have problems with chickens?  Or
>is it that the chickens themselves are have problems with this?

   A part of the answer lies in the fact that there is
a finite period of time involved before symptoms
present themselves.  For example, CJD -- the human
manfestation of BSE,"mad cow disease" -- can show
up 16 years later.  Speaking of which,  the U.S. last
week banned imported cattle, sheep, their meat and many
related products from Belgium after a case of mad cow
disease was reported there last month.
   The new campylobacter bacteria discovered in chickens
and  turkeys is resistant to fluoroquinolones.
   There is weel-founded fear that people who consume
poultry will become resistant to the current "last antibiotic"
vanomycin.

Jai Maharaj
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Om Shanti