Antibiotics Usage in Food Animal Production and Their Public Health Hazards: A Review

摘要

Usage of antibiotics in livestock production beyond the treatment of infectious diseases in a subtherapeuticdosage together with animal feed so as to promote growth and productivity in intensive animalfarming is becoming a common practice both in developed and in developing countries. Despite the economicadvantage in the increment of productivity, the risk towards the development of drug resistant bacteria which,in most cases, are zoonotically important is becoming a major problem worldwide. While much of the drugresistance observed in human medicine is attributed to inappropriate use in humans, there is increasingevidence that antimicrobial use in animals and agriculture serve as selection pressure for resistant food-bornepathogen development that may be transmitted to humans as food contaminants and become life-threatening.Research in this area has demonstrated that the manifestation and dissemination of bacterial antimicrobialresistance is the result of countless complex interactions between microorganisms, antimicrobials and thesurrounding environment. Therefore there is an urgent need to implement strategies for prudent use ofantibiotics in food animal production to prevent further increases in the occurrence of antimicrobial resistancein food-borne human pathogenic bacteria. Use of antibiotics in animals cannot be eliminated entirely since theyare needed to treat diseased animals and, in some cases, to control the spread of infection to humans (who arein contact with animals). However, antibiotic use can be minimized through: reducing the disease burden andthe spread of infection by strengthening disease prevention mechanisms, enforcing drug utilization regulationsand legislation to be implemented properly and applying a ban on non-therapeutic antibiotic use which internlimit additional damages and also create opportunity for preservation of future antimicrobials in an era whentheir efficacy is gravely compromised.