October 13, 2009

In a recent study by the University of Hong Kong, resistance to at least four types of antibiotics was found in over 95 percent of 64 faecal samples from pigs, chickens and cows.

The study also found the same level of resistance in 94.5 percent of 110 human faecel and urinary samples.

A separate study found 88.7 per cent of chicken faeces contained drug-resistant genes - the largest proportion among all livestock. It found drug resistance in 70.1 percent of pig samples and about 20 percent of cattle samples.

The higher prevalence of drug-resistance bacteria in animals might be caused by farms abusing antibiotics to promote growth, said an expert.

The expert said the government should step up surveillance and increase transparency in the use of antibiotics on farms.

A local pig farmer, Simon Cheng, said many pig farm owners bought antibiotics from China, which would be difficult to track and many owners might be uncooperative.

The secretary of the New Territories Chicken Breeders Association, Wong Yee-chuen, said the researchers should make a clear distinction between local and imported animals.

He was confident that no local farmers abused antibiotics but could not speak for China.

A spokesman at Hong Kong's Centre for Food Safety said the Codex Alimentarius Commission, a body established by the United Nations and WHO, was currently drafting a set of guidelines to test the degree of drug resistance in food.

The centre will consider adopting them or modifying them to suit local needs, he said.