The hypothesis argues that there is a downside to America's culture of disinfection and overuse of antibiotics.

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Overuse of antibiotics is blamed for much of the rise of resistance to the drugs among bacteria.

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The overuse of antibiotics can threaten both marine and human health.

ECONOMIST: Fish farming

But Blaser and others theorize that overuse of antibiotics may be causing higher rates of asthma, allergies and other diseases by killing useful gut bacteria.

FORBES: Our Germs, Ourselves

Last week, Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports, released a report on consumer attitudes to the overuse of antibiotics in agriculture.

FORBES: Connect

Our overuse of antibiotics has helped foster more numerous and stronger antibiotic-resistant microbes, to the point that we're running out of "last line" drugs to fight even the most resistant bacteria.

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"Antibiotic use in animals is out of hand, " said Dr. Gail Hansen, a veterinarian and senior officer for the Pew Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Farming, a project aimed at phasing out overuse of antibiotics in food production.

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