Banning antibiotics in animals reduces resistance in humans
CANADA - Avoiding the use of antibiotics in food animals appears to reduce drug resistance in humans, according to a study published online recently in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
28 April 2006
2 minute read
The study involved the use of antibiotics called fluoroquinolones in Australian poultry.
Australia restricts use of the antibiotics in animal husbandry because the practice is thought to contribute to drug resistance in people who contract bacterial infections from eating contaminated food.
One such infection, Campylobacter, is a leading cause of food-borne illness in industrialized countries.
The study, by researchers at the Australian National University, examined 585 Australians who had Campylobacter infections.
Only two per cent of these were resistant to the drug ciprofloxacin, a type of fluoroquinolone.
Countries that allow fluoroquinolone use in poultry have resistance rates in humans as high as 29 per cent.
Source: The Record
Australia restricts use of the antibiotics in animal husbandry because the practice is thought to contribute to drug resistance in people who contract bacterial infections from eating contaminated food.
One such infection, Campylobacter, is a leading cause of food-borne illness in industrialized countries.
The study, by researchers at the Australian National University, examined 585 Australians who had Campylobacter infections.
Only two per cent of these were resistant to the drug ciprofloxacin, a type of fluoroquinolone.
Countries that allow fluoroquinolone use in poultry have resistance rates in humans as high as 29 per cent.
Source: The Record
