Antibiotic Resistance in Poultry

The worldwide increase in the use of antibiotics as an integral part of the poultry and livestock production industry to treat and prevent infectious bacterial diseases and as growth promoters at sub-therapeutic levels in feeds has led to the problem of the development of bacterial antibiotic resistance during the past years. Recent scientific evidence has shown that resistance to antibiotics is not only due to the natural ability of a tiny fraction of the bacteria with unusual traits to survive antibiotic’s attack, enabling resistant strains to multiply, but also stems from the transmissibility of acquired resistance to their progeny and across to other unrelated bacteria species through extrachromosomal DNA fragment called the plasmid which provide a slew of different resistances. The emergence and spread of resistant bacterial strains like Campylobacter sp, Escherichia coli and Enterococcus sp. from poultry products to consumers put humans at risk to new strains of bacteria that resist antibiotic treatment. Resistant bacteria thwart antibiotics by interfering with their mode of action via a range of effectors’ mechanisms, including synthesis of inactivating enzymes, alteration in the configuration of cell wall or ribosome and modification of membrane carrier systems. These mechanisms are specific to the type of resistance developed. Because of the growing global concerns that resistance bacteria can pass from animals to humans, there is an increase in public and governmental interest in phasing out inappropriate antibiotic use in animal husbandry. Improvement in the hygienic practice of handling raw animal products and adequate heat treatment to eliminate the possibility of antibiotic resistant bacteria surviving may play a role in preventing the spread. More attention should be focused on increasing antibiotic surveillance capacity to cope with the spread of emerging resistances and on the alternative approach to sub-therapeutic antibiotics in poultry, especially the use of probiotic micro-organisms that can positively influence poultry health and produce safe edible products.