Research: The problem of microbial antibiotic resistance in animal husbandry

According to analytical studies, in 2020, more than 160,000 tons of antibiotics were used in the global livestock industry. By 2030, this figure could reach over 200,000 tons.

According to official EU statistics, the ratio of antibiotics used in medicine and animal husbandry differs significantly for different countries, but on average, the consumption of antibiotics in medicine is in the lead.

MAB - microbial antibiotic resistance = is a natural evolutionary mechanism of biological adaptation of microorganisms, allowing them to survive in a hostile environment.

The "lifespan" of the vast majority of antibiotics ranges from 1-3 years.

New antibiotics continue to be invented, so the MAR is accelerating almost rapidly.

To cope with MAP, it is necessary to take into account and work with many factors of human and animal diseases that require the use of antibiotics (poor sanitary conditions, numerous stresses, viral and factor bacterial infections against the background of a decrease in natural resistance).

Before the 2020 pandemic, about 700,000 people worldwide died every year from bacterial infections caused by resistant pathogens, according to a WHO study. by 2050, this figure could rise to 10 million. MAP is gradually moving into the category of global problems of mankind, including those that create serious obstacles to maintaining veterinary well-being.

Infection of people with resistant organisms leads to serious illness and prolonged hospital stays, increased healthcare costs, higher drug costs and treatment failures.

The cause of MAR, which lies at the interface of medical and veterinary science, is the uncontrolled use of antibiotics in animal husbandry and the transmission of resistant microorganisms to humans through direct contact with carrier animals and / or through food. This category of mycoorganisms includes causative agents of food toxic infections (Salmonella, Campylobacter and Listeria) and zooanthroponoses (diseases common to humans and animals) caused by multi / pan-resistant enterococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and various types of Escherichia coli, etc.

E. coli is the most ubiquitous microorganism in medical infectious and non-infectious pathology. It is she who is the most frequent clinical isolate in patients of outpatient and inpatient departments according to the integral data of 9 large clinical laboratories in Germany. The second and third places are shared by coagulase-negative and Staphylococcus aureus.

E. coli is the most common microorganism in animal husbandry. Its content in the composition of the intestinal microflora and the surface of poultry carcasses after slaughter reaches 50%, however, as in the structure of intravital pathology.

Until relatively recently, it was generally accepted that avian E. Coli did not pose a serious threat to other animal species and humans, however, studies have shown that animal products are a potential source of disease for humans, among which poultry MEAT is the main one (79%), significantly less often pork (17%) and beef (3%) play this role.

The frequency of detection of MAP in E. coli in meat products is increasing every year.

A 2015 IDA study in Italy showed that approximately 70% of the E. coli bacteria found in the swine industry were broad-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producers, and therefore had multiple (pan) antibiotic resistance.

Reasons for the formation of MAB:

- Massive use of antibiotics for the intensification of industrial animal husbandry of all types and areas of productivity.

- The use of antibiotics in modern poultry farming.

The reasons for the use of antibiotics in poultry farming are multifactorial and are closely related to the physiology of the birds of modern crosses, purposefully bred with an emphasis on the highest productivity, often to the detriment of resistance to stress; with a high concentration of livestock per unit area; numerous violations of the already complex technology of keeping, which does not allow creating equally optimal conditions for all individuals of one population (herd) in providing climatic comfort, access to water and food, the full realization of their biological and behavioral needs; the emergence of new infectious diseases (including immunosuppressive ones) and intensive vaccination schemes. All these negative impacts lead to a decrease in the natural resistance of the bird,

- One of the main reasons for the development of MAP in animal husbandry is the use of antibiotics in subtherapeutic dosages to prevent diseases - this is precisely what the use of ACP - Antibacterial Growth Stimulators - primarily refers to.

The British were among the first in Europe to make extensive use of antibiotics as growth promoters. The Joint Committee on the Use of Antibiotics in Animal Production and Veterinary Medicine has determined that the emergence of resistant strains of bacteria from the use of antibiotics in farm animals poses a certain risk to human and animal HEALTH.

The Committee's main recommendation is that antibiotics should be classified into "feed" and "therapeutic" and that only "feed" antibiotics should be available over the counter for use in feed. The committee was supposed to determine a list of "feed" antibiotics, the use of which guarantees safety for human health. Thus, it was recommended to ban the use of penicillin and tetracyclines in feed, and limit the availability of therapeutic drugs to prescription. The example of the United Kingdom was followed by other European countries.

In anticipation of the 2006 ban, most European feed manufacturers began to look for alternatives to ACP, comparing the results of antibiotics and alternatives in different livestock sectors. For the period 2003–2006 a large number of alternatives have been developed and tested, the number of which is growing to this day.

However, farmers and veterinarians are convinced that success was achieved not only due to ACP alternatives, but to a large extent - due to changes in housing technology, tightening of biosecurity rules, veterinary and sanitary measures and technological discipline.

Although the primary goal of banning the use of antibiotics in food producing animals was to reduce the development of MAP in zoonotic bacteria and their potential to infect humans, the number of infectious diseases in animals raised without ACP has increased significantly in some countries, and production rates have fallen markedly. This has led to a compensatory increase in the use of therapeutic antibiotics for both treatment and prevention of disease.

The results of the UK Antibiotics Control Program according to the Responsible Medicines in Agriculture Alliance (RUMA) are also encouraging, with a 74.2% reduction in antibiotic use between 2012 and 2020, including a 95.5% reduction in critical antibiotics. , fluoroquinolones - by 97.2%. In poultry farming - 66.5% for chickens and 88% for turkeys.

On the contrary, the market of antimicrobials in RUSSIA for the period 2005-2009. increased by 2.3 times, 2008–2012 - by 1.8 times. According to WTO experts, the use of antibiotics in animal husbandry in the Russian Federation is growing annually by about 35–40%, and by 2020 we should have overtaken the United States in this indicator . These calculations also confirm the data of Diagram 12, however, the ratio of the total consumption of antibiotics in the Russian Federation and the usa and their consumption in mg/kg of average live weight with a 4-fold difference in meat production volumes are inexplicable...

Russia entered the program to combat IDA in 2017 by approving the “Strategy for preventing the spread of IDA in the Russian Federation for the period until 2030”, and from January 1, 2022, clauses 3 and 5 of part 4 of Article 10 of the Federal Law of December 30, 2020 N492- Federal Law "On biological safety in the Russian Federation", which impose restrictions on the use of a number of preventive and therapeutic drugs:

restrictions are introduced on the distribution and sale of medicinal products intended for the treatment of infectious and parasitic diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms and opportunistic microorganisms in order to exclude their use in the absence of medical indications;

establishes a ban on the use of drugs intended for the treatment of infectious and parasitic diseases of animals caused by pathogenic microorganisms and opportunistic pathogens, without clinical confirmation of the diagnosis, as well as a ban on the continued use of such drugs in the absence of treatment efficacy (with the exception of cases established by the federal body executive power, performing the functions of developing state policy and legal regulation in the field of the agro-industrial complex, including veterinary medicine).

Key principles for the responsible and prudent use of antibiotics in farm animals (according to the WHO strategy):

The need for antibiotic use in farm animals should be reduced by improving animal health through the implementation of biosecurity measures (to prevent the entry of pathogenic bacteria and the development of infections), disease prevention (including the use of effective vaccines, prebiotics and probiotics), good hygienic conditions and use of effective management methods.

Antibiotics can be given to farm animals only in cases where they are vital and only under the supervision and prescription of a veterinarian.

Antibiotics should only be used for therapeutic purposes, and their use should be based on the results of resistance surveillance (isolation of cultures of microorganisms and determination of their sensitivity to antibiotics), as well as clinical experience.

The use of antibiotics as growth promoters should be avoided.

When antibiotic use is justified, narrow-spectrum antibiotics should be the first line of treatment.

Antibiotics recognized as critical to medicine—especially fluoroquinolones and third and fourth generation cephalosporins—should only be used in animals when absolutely necessary.

The use of antibiotics in farm animals should be limited only to necessary and targeted cases, taking into account the results of the isolation of microorganisms from animals and determining their sensitivity to antibiotics, and if problems arise during the treatment process, the necessary adjustments should be made.

At the national level, international recommendations on the prudent use of antibiotics, adapted to the specific conditions of each country, should be used. Veterinary professional communities should develop recommendations for the rational use of antibiotics in farm animals of various species, including indications for the use of first, second and reserve antibiotics in the treatment of various bacterial infections.

The economic incentives for the irrational use of antibiotics need to be removed.

It is necessary to adhere to a strategy for the safe phase-out of antibiotics of all categories in all industries, competently combining: changes in keeping technology, tightening of biological protection measures and sanitary and veterinary rules, selection of optimal replacement schemes for feed antibacterial growth stimulants, preventive and therapeutic antibiotics, training veterinarians in the principles of responsible the use of antibiotics, and specialized specialists - the knowledge necessary to control and reduce technological stress in the maintenance of animals.