Bion's Livestock Waste Treatment System A Solution To Help Remedy Human Infections Tied To Farm Animal Manure

Recent research and studies that spotlight the proliferation of drug-resistant bacteria, including MRSA, that are tied to farm animal manure help make the case for implementation of Bion Environmental Technologies’ livestock waste treatment system.

Several recent studies pinpoint the excessive use of antibiotics in livestock that lead to the creation of drug-resistant pathogens that are then excreted by the animal. When the untreated manure is applied to fields as fertilizer, the pathogens are included. Bion’s advanced livestock waste treatment system reduces the need for administration of nontherapeutic antibiotics by improving the conditions where the animals are kept. More importantly, during the waste treatment process the system all but eliminates pathogens residing in the manure.

A study published in November 2013 in the Journal of American Medical Association Internal Medicine concluded that proximity to swine manure application to crop fields and livestock operations are linked to MRSA and skin and soft-tissue infection.

The study, “High-Density Livestock Operations, Crop Field Application of Manure, and Risk of Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infection in Pennsylvania,” assessed the association between individual exposure to swine and dairy industrial agriculture and the risk of MRSA infection. The findings were made over a study of nearly 500,000 health care patients from 2005 to 2010.

The report concludes that the findings “contribute to the growing concern about the potential public health impacts of high-density livestock production.”

A 2014 study published in the Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology Journal describes how research in Iowa showed that residents living close to large numbers of swine at concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) led to increased risk of MRSA colonization. Patients carrying the drug-resistant staph were nearly three times more likely to be carriers if they lived within one mile of a farm that housed upwards of 2,500 swine, according to the study.

In another study, a December 2014 article in Scientific American notes that cow dung itself can breed a resistance to antibiotics. Researchers found unexpectedly that soil bacteria carrying antibiotic-resistant genes became more abundant when they were grown with manure than with synthetic nitrogen-based fertilizer even though the manure came from drug-free cattle.

Bion’s proven comprehensive treatment of livestock waste leads to a healthier environment for the animals as well as for surrounding populations, said Bion Communications Director Craig Scott. “Our system both reduces the need for daily prophylactic antibiotics by improving the animal’s environment, lessening the opportunity for respiratory distress, as well as provides a kill rate of almost 100 percent of all pathogens in the waste stream,” Scott said.

Bion’s patented technology platform provides comprehensive and cost-effective treatment of livestock waste and recovers valuable assets from the waste stream, including renewable energy, nutrients and clean water. Bion’s technology can deliver substantial cost savings and improved efficiencies in two industries: water treatment and dairy/livestock production.

For more information, visit http://biontech.com.

Links to studies:

http://www.wired.com/2014/01/mrsa-col-cafo/

http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1738717

http://www.pnas.org/content/111/42/15202.abstract