As a result of the over-use and misuse of antibiotics in animals and humans this is contributing to the rising threat of antibiotic resistance. The United Nations Agency for health has recommended that farmers stop using antibiotics in healthy animals.
Farmer Frederick Hanciles, who runs his poultry farm at Gloucester, said that he hardly uses antibiotics and that is why we follow the vaccine program. “With that program you will not get any problem as its just vitamins and deworming from time to time.”
He said that some antibiotics that come into the country are not good as we do lack the laboratories for testing to ascertain whether it fits our own climatic condition. “We need to be informed on regular basis on new drugs for our animals.”
In a release issued by WHO on 7 November, they says some types of bacteria that cause serious infections in humans have already developed resistance to most or all of the available treatments and there are very few promising options in the research pipeline. Farmers and the food industry they say should stop using antibiotics routinely to promote growth and prevent disease in healthy animals.
“A lack of effective antibiotics is as serious a security threat as a sudden and deadly disease outbreak,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO on the new guidelines aimed at helping preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics for humans by reducing their unnecessary use in animals.
“Strong, sustained action across all sectors is vital if we are to turn back the tide of anti-microbial resistance and keep the world safe,” he added.
In some countries, some 80% of the total consumption of medically important antibiotics is in the animal sector, largely for growth promotion in healthy animals.
WHO strongly recommends an overall reduction in the use of all classes of medically important antibiotics in food-producing animals, including complete restriction of these antibiotics for growth promotion and disease prevention without diagnosis.
Healthy animals should only receive antibiotics to prevent disease if it has been diagnosed in other animals in the same flock, herd, or fish population, according to the updated WHO guidelines on use of medically important antimicrobials in food-producing animals.
Alternative options to using antibiotics for disease prevention in animals include improving hygiene, better use of vaccination, and changes in animal housing and husbandry practices.
ZJ/8/11/17
By Zainab Joaque
Thursday November 09, 2017.