Antibiotic Use in Poultry Production and Its Effects on Bacterial Resistance

Abstract

A surge in the development and spread of antibiotic resistance has become a major cause for concern. Over the past few decades, no major new types of antibiotics have been produced and almost all known antibiotics are increasingly losing their activity against pathogenic microorganisms. The levels of multi-drug resistant bacteria have also increased. It is known that worldwide, more than 60% of all antibiotics that are produced find their use in animal production for both therapeutic and non-therapeutic purposes. The use of antimicrobial agents in animal husbandry has been linked to the development and spread of resistant bacteria. Poultry products are among the highest consumed products worldwide but a lot of essential antibiotics are employed during poultry production in several countries; threatening the safety of such products (through antimicrobial residues) and the increased possibility of development and spread of microbial resistance in poultry settings. This chapter documents some of the studies on antibiotic usage in poultry farming; with specific focus on some selected bacterial species, their economic importance to poultry farming and reports of resistances of isolated species from poultry settings (farms and poultry products) to essential antibiotics.

Detection and characterization of multidrug‐resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Infantis as an emerging threat in poultry farms of Faisalabad, Pakistan

“…Currently, it is estimated that 60% production of all the antimicrobial agents is used in livestock including poultry. Although use of these agents has improved poultry performance effectively and economically, it has also resulted in the development of the antimicrobial-resistant strains of pathogenic bacteria which ultimately creating serious public health concerns via food chain (Agyare et al 2018).…”

Antibiotic use in chicken farms in northwestern China

“…Although these two antibiotics were considered to have a lower risk and are most commonly used on chicken farms worldwide [20,21,24], frequent and regular use can accelerate the resistance process [5,25]. Previous studies have reported high rates of resistance to amoxicillin and oxytetracycline in poultry in China and other countries [11,26,27]. This eventually leads farmers to use higher level of medically important antibiotics or other antibiotics on the prohibited list [28,29].…”

Current trends of antimicrobials used in food animals and aquaculture

“…Poultry refers to the breeders and production animals of broilers, chickens, and turkeys. Chicken is the most frequently farmed spp., producing more than 90 billion tons of chicken meat per year (Agyare et al, 2018). Most countries use a wide variety of (Sahoo et al, 2010;Landers et al, 2012;Boamah et al, 2016).…”