June 25, 2009

 

Antibiotics such as cephalosporin used in chicken hatcheries in Canada are causing human resistance to the medicines, according to a report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).

 

Surveillance information from the Canadian Integrated Programme for Antimicrobial Resistance (CIPARS) strongly indicates that cephalosporin resistance in humans is moving in sync with the use of the drug in poultry production, the CMAJ said.

 

In 2005, when farmers briefly stopped using ceftiofur, a type of cephalosporin, there was a sharp drop in cephalosporin resistance in salmonella samples taken from humans and retail poultry, the CMAJ said.

 

But researchers are now seeing an increase in resistance again. The March data for Ontario showed there was a spoke in ceftiofur resistance in both humans and chickens. Between 2007 and 2008, there was a surge in bacteria resistance in retail chicken in British Columbia, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. In British Columbia, resistance level jumped from 29 percent to 46 percent.

 

Cephalosporin is not approved for use in chickens or eggs, but is often automatically injected into eggs at chicken hatcheries to prevent infections and occurs on an off- or extra-label basis, the CMAJ said.

 

Health Canada has issued a safety warning label about off-label use of cephalosporin, but critics said tighter restrictions are needed, such as a ban on the sale of these antibiotics for food animal production.