E-DRUG: Overuse of animal antibiotics threatens human health
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BMJ 1999;319:536 ( 28 August )
News
Overuse of animal antibiotics threatens human health
Richard Woodman , London
Giving antibiotics to farm animals results in the emergence of
resistant bacteria with potentially calamitous consequences for human
health, warns a report from the United Kingdom Advisory Committee on
the Micro-biological Safety of Food.
The committee, which was set up to provide the government with
independent expert advice, says that it is clear that some of the
resistant strains seen in food animals are capable of infecting
humans. Moreover, the ability of micro-organisms to transfer
resistance "adds to the concerns about multiple resistant strains like
[Salmonella typhimurium] entering the food chain."
The report recommends reduced reliance on the use of antimicrobials in
food animal production and urges regulatory authorities to consider
the resistance problem before authorising veterinary medicines.
Members of the committee backed the recent European Union ban on using
as growth promoters certain antibiotics that are closely related to
those used in human medicine. The report stated: "Having considered
the matter very carefully, we concluded it would be prudent to phase
out the use as growth promoters of spiramycin, tylosin phosphate and
virginiamycin which might give rise to resistance to clinical
antibiotics. We felt, additionally, that those remaining for use as
growth promotersavilamycin, bambermycin, bacitracin zinc, monensin
sodium and salinomycin should be more closely controlled, with
regular reviews of possible implications in human medicine."
Although the report says that there is conclusive evidence that giving
antibiotics to animals results in the emergence of some resistant
bacteria that infect humans, it points out that the extent to which
this contributes to the overall problem of bacterial antibiotic
resistance in humans is uncertain. It notes: "For more than a year we
have tried, unsuccessfully, to discover the amounts of antibiotics
used in animals in the United Kingdom, the species of animals in which
they were given, and the purpose of administration. We recognise that
much of this information is commercially sensitive or difficult to
assemble. We nevertheless believe that a robust system to gather this
information should be put in place as soon as possible."
Microbial Antibiotic Resistance in Relation to Food Safety is
available from the Stationery Office, London, UK. price �27.50.
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