![]() Why are antibiotics used so widely in these animals, however? One answer comes from the demands of the meat industry, which place a strain on the animals’ health.įarming animals for meat is a particularly intense process, with pig sows, for instance, not being given enough time to recover in-between births. is in agriculture, with pigs and poultry receiving five to 10 times more antibiotics than cows and sheep. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 80 percent of the total antibiotic use in the U.S. and China are the largest users of antibiotics for food production. In this Spotlight feature, we report on the key findings from her talk. ![]() Parliament, which can be read in full here. In her presentation, Evans drew from the work she conducted at the U.K. So, how are antibiotics currently being used in animals, and what might be the implications for human health? At the London Microbiome Meeting, which took place in the United Kingdom, Nicola Evans - a doctoral researcher in structural biology at King’s College London - shared some of her insights on these issues. Using antibiotics in animals may raise the risk of transmitting drug-resistant bacteria to humans either by direct infection or by transferring “resistance genes from agriculture into human pathogens,” researchers caution. Some of the factors that have led to this crisis include the overprescription of antibiotics, poor sanitation and hygiene practices in hospitals, and insufficient laboratory tests that can detect an infection quickly and accurately.Īn additional factor that may contribute to drug resistance in humans is the overuse of antibiotics in farming and agriculture. individuals develop a drug-resistant infection each year.īy the year 2050, some researchers predict that antibiotic resistance will cause 10 million deaths every year, surpassing cancer as the leading cause of mortality worldwide. Share on Pinterest Crowded farms contribute to disease transmission among animals, which, in turn, boosts the use of antibiotics.Īntibiotic resistance poses a serious threat to public health, both in the United States and globally.Īccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), antibiotic resistance is responsible for 25,000 annual deaths in the European Union and 23,000 annual deaths in the U.S.
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