Conversion to Organic Poultry Farming Lowers Risk of Antibiotic- Resistant Bacteria

摘要

Poultry farms that have adopted organic practices and cease using antibiotics have significantly tower levels of drug-resistant Entero-cocci bacteria that can potentially spread to humans, according to a new study published August 2011 in the online edition of Environmental Health Perspectives. Researchers at the University of Maryland's School of Public Health investigated the impact of removing antibiotics from poultry farms by studying 10 conventional and 10 newly organic large-scale poultry houses in the mid-Atlantic region. While all farms tested positive for the presence of Enterococci in poultry litter, feed, and water as expected, the newly organic farms were characterized by a significantly lower prevalence of antibiotic-resistant Enterococci.