By: Aastha Nagpal
Ph.D. Scholar (1st year)
Department of Veterinary Public Health & Epidemiology
Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Hisar
Importance
Antibiotics have been used extensively in animals and poultry for therapeutic purpose as well as for growth promoters such as in pigs & poultry. These agents are used with the motive to kill or inhibit the growth and multiplication of bacteria and thus promoting better health and performance. Hence, when it comes to treatment and prevention of bacterial infections it is undoubtedly a boon for the farmers but the growing irrational use of antibiotics in food animals & poultry has led to one health concern that needs to be addressed for safeguarding public health.
Consequences
There are many serious repercussions involved with the rampant use of antibiotics that has shaken the three important pillars of ‘ONE HEALTH’ i.e. health of animals, health of humans and health of environment as a whole.
• Effect on animal: Irrational therapeutic use of antimicrobials like self-medication or indiscriminate use of antibiotics by farmers/owners and non-therapeutic or sub-therapeutic use such as for growth promotion and improving feed efficiency for a long period which has ultimately lead to overuse of drugs has resulted into the development of ‘antimicrobial resistance’ in animals. Due to this, pathogens are able to resist action of antimicrobials which in turn leads to failure of antibiotics to treat specific condition further leading to persistence of infection and its spread. As a result of continuous usage of antibiotics there can be destruction of normal microflora of gut that plays a vital role in preventing infection. Thus, their destruction enhances the population of pathogens aggravating the situation at an alarming rate. Further the accumulation of antibiotics in muscles and tissues as residues have posed risk for the consumers and the other animals.
• Effect on human: Humans are dependent on food animals & poultry for milk, meat and eggs to meet out their nutritional requirement. Such animals harboring antibiotic residues or antimicrobial resistant bacteria, called as superbugs, may serve as a potent source of transmission to humans either via direct contact, consumption of milk/meat/eggs, drinking contaminated water, indirectly via manure, etc. Consequently, it leads to cross resistance to antibiotics used in humans and finally causes treatment failure of human medicine. Situation gets worse when clinically important drugs that are supposed to be last resort of treating bacterial infections in humans fail to produce its effect against the infection, resulting in treatment failure and life threatening complications. Farmers, veterinarians, animal handlers are the highest risk bearers because of their close proximity with the infected animals.
• Effect on environment: Infected farm animals may release the antibiotic residues or resistant bacteria into the environment, through workers or farm runoff, making it a potential source and thereby posing a significant threat to the biodiversity and ecosystem as a whole. These harmful agents when present in environment can then be transferred to new hosts making it vulnerable to infection. Also the horizontal transfer of resistant genes from superbugs to other bacteria (e.g. bacteria that infects human) can occur that is responsible for the evolution of resistant pathogens which will eventually impact public health.
Constraints
Antimicrobial resistance is a matter of concern especially in developing countries including India. Various constraints are associated that includes:
• No proper regulation so as to control the use of antibiotics, especially non-therapeutic use such as for growth promotion, in food animals.
• Poor documentation of burden of antimicrobial resistance from antibiotic overuse in animals as well as unavailability of the adequate data on the exact quantity of antibiotic consumed and need for the medication in the dairy and poultry industry.
• Intensive type of animal farming that has encouraged the use of antibiotics quite often.
• Easily availability of over the counter (OTC) drugs/antibiotics.
Approaches to mitigate the effect
• Suitable policies, interventions and activities should be designed to address the prevention and spread of antimicrobial resistance from farm to fork.
• National action plan encompassing one health as recommended by the WHO, OIE and FAO should be executed and stringently followed especially by developing countries.
• Effective participation and collaboration of different stakeholders such as veterinarians, paravets, farmers, pharmacist as well as human health professionals and environmentalists so as to attain optimum health for one and all.
• Attention should be given on refining documentation system, optimizing the use of antibiotics, drug dosing, arresting treatment of asymptomatic bacteria and reducing the duration of surgical prophylaxis.
• Different tools for record keeping of on-farm antibiotic use, like paper spread sheets and digital entries can be used by farmers in the health management of their livestock or poultry as well as by veterinarians in providing an accurate picture of how prescribed drugs are actually used.
• Improvement of hygiene & sanitation and prevention of infection in animal farming.
• Non-therapeutic use of antibiotics such as for growth promotion in livestock and poultry should be limited.
• Treatment of the animals without consulting the veterinarian or self-medication by farmers should be avoided so as to encourage cautious use of antibiotics on farms.
• As suggested by Global Antibiotic Resistance Partnership (GARP) – India Working Group 2011, there is a need to check irrational use, implement prescription only laws, and control on OTC antibiotics sale & purchase, proper surveillance, distribution of standard treatment guidelines, antibiotic sensitivity testing before prescription, educating the farmers and different stakeholders about pertinent use of antibiotics and enhancing antibiotic supply chain and standards.
• Thorough research to be done on the diagnosis, prescription, use of antimicrobials, application of treatments in addition to antimicrobials and the methods of data generation that would enable better understanding and subsequent action toward antimicrobial resistance.
• Mechanisms of resistance need to be thoroughly understand and thus innovation in designing new drugs is the call for.
• Use of last line antibiotics needs to be banned in animals. Recently there has been prohibition on production, sale as well as distribution of colistin and its formulations for food animals and poultry with immediate outcome.
Conclusion
Close proximity of the humans with animals as well as with the growing demand for animal produce viz. milk, meat, eggs by ever increasing population, there is an utmost need to tackle the situation of irrational use of antibiotics so as to reduce the threat to animals, humans and environment. One needs to understand that the three pillars of one health are interconnected and thereby any sort of disturbance in one will have serious effect on the other. Misuse of antibiotics especially as growth promoters in livestock & poultry is one of the key reasons for growing antimicrobial resistance in the country. With the overuse of antibiotics in food animals, there has been a decline in antimicrobial effectiveness against infections in animals and eventually in humans. Also resistance to infectious diseases is likely to increase the cost of treatment and is a matter of serious biosecurity concern due to its spread. Hence, action should be taken to eliminate sub-therapeutic use of antibiotics in food. There is a high need for the judicious use of antibiotics in food animals not only to promote food safety for consumers but also for the welfare of the animals. Proper surveillance and monitoring system to track rates of antimicrobial use in food animal & poultry sector, increase in resistance and spread of antimicrobial residues in food chain. Thus, ‘One Health’ approach to combat antimicrobial resistance is need of an hour. Strengthening of appropriate strategies and regulations should be encouraged. Awareness among different stakeholders for sustainable use of antibiotics as well as consumers about its potential risk should be ensured through various programmes. The process to get rid of this situation is not easy; it takes times for implementation of different approaches but consistent multidisciplinary teamwork and efforts at local, regional, national and global level will certainly promote ‘One Health’.
