Antibiotic Consumption by farm animals: A great threat to public health
Dr. Sadhana Singh Sagar *
Discovery of antibiotic was a great achievement for medical society. Today our medical practices have been modernized by intrusion of antibiotics. Antibiotics have controlled various infectious diseases successfully from human to animals.
But unfortunately, rapid emergence of drug resistant bacteria against the currently available antibiotics has indulged the public health in trouble. Poor medical practices and blindly prescription of antibiotics to the farm animals are the main leading cause of antibiotic resistance in bacteria.
According to WHO report, in some countries, 80% of antibiotics is consumed by farm animals. Antibiotic consumed is this context responsible for the frequently emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria in the gut of chickens, buffaloes, swine and in other animals.
As per the UN frontier 2017 report, consumed antibiotics are disseminated by such animals in to the surrounding milieu, water body, and grazing land that lead to arose of antibiotic resistant bacteria across a wide area.
Hence, it is an alarming sign to our Environmentalist and Clinician. However, human are under great risk to those newly drug resistant bacteria, due to direct contact with animals, and ingestion of contaminated food lead to fatal infections.
Human community is under great risk because humans are used to live with animals from the ancient time. Contaminated meat and other cross contaminated foods are mainly responsible salmonellosis and campylobacteriosis in humans.
In fact, it has been found that Campylobacter jejuni the causing organism of campylobacteriosis is resistant to the fluoroquinolones which is a severe concern.
According to a report of United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), fluoroquinolone-resistant Campylobacter are associated with various illnesses in human on consumption of chickens.
Some European countries have also been threatened by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections which are associated with livestock. Hence, an initiative is urgently needed to protect lives from such deadly superbugs.
Although, initiative have already been taken up by several countries for collapsing of drug resistant bacteria. In this regards, European Union has banned nonmedical antibiotics in animals by 2006.
Recently, in 2013 FDA has created a policy to limit the routine consumption of antibiotics as well as a veterinarian consult is needed before use.
Thus, such awareness towards the drug resistance superbugs can bring a great deal in health sector.
* Dr. Sadhana Singh Sagar wrote this article for e-pao.net
The writer is a Teaching Associate, Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University, Jhansi
The writer may be contacted at sadhanasagar58(AT)gmail(DOT)com
This article was webcasted on February 03 2019.
* Comments posted by users in this discussion thread and other parts of this site are opinions of the individuals posting them (whose user ID is displayed alongside) and not the views of e-pao.net. We strongly recommend that users exercise responsibility, sensitivity and caution over language while writing your opinions which will be seen and read by other users. Please read a complete Guideline on using comments on this website.