AMR: an increasing global burden for animal and human health

We all have heard about MDR or multi drug resistance strains for some important human diseases like TB (tuberculosis), but the increasing number of resistant bacterial strains in livestock is a serious concern for animal health and eventually, human health too.

- Dr. Jaspreet Kaur

This sharp increase in the occurrence of AMR or antimicrobial strains in farm animals has been observed due to the overuse of antimicrobials to maintain the health and productivity of farm animals. Thus, the urge to maintain high quality animal protein in order to meet the growing demands of its consumption has prompted the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria and in turn making the drugs less effective in livestock. In a recent study published in Science (Boeckel et al., 2019), it was found that China and India are the largest hotspots of resistance, with new hotspots emerging in Brazil and Kenya. It was also found that the highest resistance rates were observed in the most commonly used classes of antimicrobials in animal production, namely, tetracyclines, sulfonamides, and penicillins as well as in ciprofloxacin and erythromycin, which are considered critical to human medicine. It has been reported that from 2000 to 2018, there has been a substantial increase in the fraction of antimicrobial compounds with resistance higher than 50% (P50) with almost a three-fold increase in chickens (0.15 to 0.41) and from 0.13 to 0.34 in pigs (Boeckel et al., 2019). This is alarming data which needs the attention of governmental policies and administration, since in most of the countries across the world, the sale of veterinary antimicrobials is largely unregulated. The decision makers need to charter legislative acts or rules which restrict the use of antimicrobials in livestock and implementation of AMR surveillance programs on animal farming also. Most importantly, sustainable farming practices should be encouraged wherein the animals are provided with sufficient food and space, which will further reduce the use of antimicrobials in animals. Most importantly, 'One Health’ approach must be applied at all fronts integrating human, animal, and environmental health perspectives for long-term success (Tang et al., 2023).