Hyderabad: The waste from poultry and animal farms is a major reason for the antibiotic resistance in the bacteria in farmlands, says a research by Centre for Science and Environment, Delhi.
The research, which looked at soil samples in farmlands where the poultry waste was dumped, found high levels of bacteria like E-coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, etc with 8-100 per cent multi drug resistance.
The research, which was conducted at poultry farms in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab, examined how the waste was disposed of. Most of them compost the waste and use it as a manure. The farm soil was tested and it was established that the antibiotic resistant bacteria are finding their way into farmlands.
Animal microbiology experts in the city say it is a common practice to feed antibiotics for poultry and animals, to gain sudden weight.
“Antibiotic is used not only to bust the infections in animals but also added in poultry feed to make animals gain immediate weight. So with such a feed, a seven-week-old chicken can weigh up to 2 kg,” said Dr Jayanth Bhanushali, chief scientific officer. He added that it was a common practice to have high amount of antibiotics in animal feeds. The antibiotics for animals and humans are same and easily procurable.
The research found E-coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus lentus were resistant to 16 antibiotics. Ten of these antibiotics are critically important for humans, according to the World Health Organisation. But experts also add that the antibiotic abuse is not specific to poultry farms alone, but the entire country as well.
“In India, antibiotics are used excessively for every minor diseases. So, the use of antibiotics for poultry and livestock is not surprising. A poultry owner can easily get them over- the-counter or as veterinary medicine or bulk drugs,” said Dr Subeer S. Majumdar, director of the National Institute of Animal Biotechnology.
The dumping of the poultry and animal waste can take the infection from agricultural lands to water bodies as it happened in Hyderabad. Waste disposal into sewage lines and the lakes are quite rampant. These are also hotspots for resistant drugs to breed.
The CSE from their reasearch has stressed the need for a national action plan on antibiotic resistance to address the misuse of antibiotics in poultry farms.
