The Threat of Antibiotic Resistance
The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a growing global health threat. This crisis requires action across all sectors of society. While antibiotic misuse in human medicine gets most of the attention, the overuse of antibiotics in animal agriculture is a significant contributor to the problem.
Antibiotics in Animal Agriculture
In the U.S., around 80% of antibiotics sold go to animal farming. About 70% of these are essential for human medicine. Farmers often use these antibiotics to promote growth and prevent infections in livestock. This practice is expected to rise dramatically worldwide in the next 15 years.
How Antibiotics in Animals Lead to Resistance
The use of antibiotics in animals can contribute to the development of resistant bacteria. These bacteria are then passed to humans through direct contact with animals, consumption of undercooked meat, and exposure to contaminated surfaces. Over time, this practice makes it harder to treat bacterial infections in humans.
The Consequences of Antibiotic Resistance
If antibiotics lose their effectiveness, treating bacterial infections will become much harder. This situation would severely impact public health and medical practice. Health professionals are already cautious about prescribing antibiotics unnecessarily, but the overuse in animals also must be addressed. In fact, the cost of treating antibiotic-resistant infections in humans adds between $21 and $34 billion to the U.S. healthcare system each year. Additionally, patients stay in the hospital for an extra eight million days annually due to resistant infections.
Addressing the Root Causes
To combat antibiotic resistance, we must tackle the issue in both human medicine and animal agriculture. By reducing the overuse of antibiotics in farming, we can slow the development of resistance and protect public health.