International dialog proposes tighter controls on farm antibiotics
The resolution from The Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD) states that several factors contribute to the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance, including the use of antibiotics in human medicine and their excessive use in animal husbandry. According to the resolution, “With regard to animal farming, antimicrobials are not just used to cure infections, but also routinely added to livestock feed and/or water to prevent infections in healthy animals and as growth promoters.”
According to the resolution, resistance to one antimicrobial can lead to resistance to other related antimicrobials. For example, bacteria resistant to Avoparcin, an antimicrobial used in animal feed, may also be resistant to Vancomycin, the most powerful antimicrobial used against Staphylococcus aureus. Sweden stopped the use Avoparcin in the beginning of the 1980s, and it was banned in the EU in 1997. The use of antimicrobial growth promoters encourages the colonization of resistant bacteria like Salmonella, E. coli, etc. in the gut of animals.