A recent\u00a0study\u00a0published in the journal\u00a0Science\u00a0finds antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in food animals\u00a0or livestock raised for meat, has nearly tripled in low- and middle-income countries since 2000. Led by the\u00a0Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP), scientists examined the proportion of animals which showed rates of resistance higher than 50 percent: \u201ca plausible cutoff at which one may no longer use the antibiotic as reliable treatment,\u201d explains co-author and director of the CDDEP Dr. Ramanan Laxminarayan.<\/p>\n
In 2001, the World Health Organisation (WHO)\u00a0declared\u00a0that AMR posed \u201ca threat to global stability and national security,\u201d and called for further research in the field. \u201cAlthough drug resistance is an important area of global health concern, there are no surveillance systems to track resistance in animals outside a few high-income countries. So we had to dig deep,\u201d Laxminarayan tells Food Tank.<\/p>\n
While high-income nations have fed animals antibiotics since the\u00a01950\u2019s, the study notes that the growing consumption of animal protein in low- and middle-income countries has caused the use of antibiotics to increase. According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), meat production has\u00a0soared\u00a0since 2000, rising 68 percent in Asia, 64 percent in Africa, and 40 percent in South America.<\/p>\n
Patterns of antimicrobial resistance mirror these trends, and the study describes \u201chotspots of resistance\u201d emerging in eastern Turkey, areas surrounding Johannesburg, and on the south coast of Brazil. Critically, researchers found the highest levels of resistance in China and India\u2014home to\u00a054 percent\u00a0of the world\u2019s chickens and\u00a056 percent\u00a0of the world\u2019s pigs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe significant increases in resistance were surprising since we had no indication that we would find this,\u201d says Laxminarayan. The study found that the most dramatic surges in resistance were in chickens\u2014rising from\u00a015 to 41 percent, and in pigs\u2014increasing from\u00a013 to 34 percent. Most often, these animals were suffering from common bacterial infections such as salmonella and E.coli and resistant to main forms of antibiotics including tetracyclines, sulfonamides, and penicillin.<\/p>\n
Currently, the study notes that\u00a073 percent\u00a0of the world\u2019s antimicrobials are fed to animals. While the drugs are intended to maintain the health of livestock, the effects also guarantee productivity and growth within industrial-scale animal production\u2014especially in concentrated animal feeding operations.<\/p>\n
But the researchers warn that the efficacy of antimicrobials could soon be depleted\u2060 in livestock, causing the spread of antibiotic-resistant disease in both animals and humans. In 2013, the UK\u2019s Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies\u00a0told\u00a0the BBC that the rise of AMR was a \u201cticking time bomb,\u201d and \u201cas big a risk as terrorism.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although further analysis is required, the entire food system could face additional economic consequences. \u201cSurely it cannot help to have sick animals that have drug-resistant infections. My prediction is that it will drive up food prices,\u201d explains Laxminarayan.<\/p>\n
Proximity to cities and access to veterinary drugs were leading factors associated with the high rates of AMR. Although the WHO called for a global reduction of veterinary antibiotics, Laxminarayan explains the issue requires a more integrated response. \u201cImplementing it [the reduction of antibiotics] is going to require that farmers everywhere learn how to raise food animals without antibiotics. There needs to be a global knowledge exchange to facilitate this,\u201d says Laxminarayan.<\/p>\n
The study calls for further global action, especially within the emerging hotspots of resistance. The authors recommend that high-income nations see these areas as \u201cWindows of Opportunity\u201d and support their transitions to safe and sustainable animal farming practices. A global fund could be created to incentivize and subsidize other low- and middle-income regions to improve farm-level antibiotic use. \u201cAll countries bear responsibility for reasonable levels of per capita meat consumption, and to phase out the use of medically important antibiotics from the food animal industry,\u201d says Laxminarayan.<\/p>\n
Finally, individuals can also play an essential role in tackling AMR. Another\u00a0study\u00a0co-authored by Laxminarayan found that if meat intake was limited to 40 grams a day per person\u2014the equivalent of one fast-food burger\u2014the consumption of antimicrobials in livestock could be reduced by 66 percent. \u201cDon\u2019t purchase meat raised on antibiotics. Reduce consumption of meat. Ask questions about where your food comes from,\u201d Laxminarayan advises Food Tank.<\/p>\n