Drug Resistance in Food Animals - A Public Health Concern

Abstract

The wide spread use of antibiotics to combat infections and promote growth in livestock and poultry has resulted into emergence of resistant bacterial strains. Product characteristics, dose, treatment interval and duration of treatment influence the selection pressure for antimicrobial drug resistance. The prevalence and persistence of antimicrobial resistance is the result of a complex interaction between antimicrobials, microorganisms, the host and the environment. Antimicrobial resistance in veterinary medicine could form a potential public health hazard. Indeed, the commensal gastro-intestinal flora of healthy animals harbours a reservoir of resistance genes that can colonize the flora of humans through the food chain or by direct contact. If the underlying resistance gene is horizontally transferred into human pathogenic bacteria, this can lead to therapeutic failure as a consequence of antimicrobial resistance.