February 22
 
Poultry farms source of antibiotic resistance-study
 

 

High rates of bacteria resistant to colistin, a last-resort antibiotic in human medicine, have been found in flies around Chinese poultry farms, an article prepared by Rabobank and released this month said.

 

Rabobank cited a study published in Nature Microbiology, which showed that flies can spread antibiotic resistance and which identified poultry farms as a source of colistin resistance.

 

"As a result of these findings, we expect tighter regulation regarding the use of antibiotic growth promoters in livestock farming in emerging markets", Rabobank said.

 

It said the experience of Europe-where programmes to reduce the use of antibiotics have already been in place for over a decade-showed that an early focus on improving farming practices and non-antibiotic growth promoters fosters a production infrastructure that supports sustainable technical performance.

 

"Antibiotics can only mask inferior farm management for a while, and as such, they support a relatively strong technical performance only temporarily", the article said.

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