Overuse of Antibiotics Among Bees and Human, Researchers Found That It is Also The Culprit Affecting the Crops Decades Ago

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Overuse of antibiotics found to be a threat to bees and human. Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin discovered unveiled the reason behind this.

Nancy Moran, who led the research and Kasie Raymann, postdoctoral researcher along with their team found that honey bees treated with antibiotics more likely to survive in just a week. While other bees that didn't overuse of antibiotics last for the whole week, these findings led the researchers to see that there is a similar health implication with the human.

Overuse of antibiotics proven to be bad when the researchers discovered that it can clear out beneficial bacteria in the bees making a way for harmful pathogens. In relation to this, such bacteria are also present in human.

When the researchers tried doing the experiment with the bees by treating with the common antibiotic tetracycline, they found out that the insects are getting fewer gut bacteria, which can help to block pathogens, break toxins and absorb nutrients. They also discovered that there is a higher risk of having Serratia, a pathogenic bacterium that can afflict human. As observed, overuse of antibiotics can increase the mortality rate due to the loss beneficial bacteria that will provide the natural defense against dangerous bacteria.

Bees and humans are alike due of having the same gut microbiome, which is responsible for in developing and modulating immunity for the body against bad bacteria. Hence, this study proved that overuse of antibiotics can cause living thing more harm than good. "We aren't suggesting people stop using antibiotics," Moran said. "Antibiotics save lives. We definitely need them. We just need to be careful how we use them."

Moreover, researchers found that overuse of antibiotics has also a great impact on the agricultural industry wherein loss of thousand bees decade ago affecting the crops may link to this. While to human, it is advisable to consult their doctor before taking antibiotics.