Resistance To Antibiotics And Animal Husbandry
The resistance to antibiotics is a subject that makes us more and more, which is why it is also becoming increasingly important for the health authorities.
Around 700,000 deaths annually are believed to be related to antibiotic resistance and these numbers are also believed to increase dramatically in the future.
What is antibiotic resistance?
To understand this problem, we must first know that antibiotics are made naturally by many bacteria. That is why they are a weapon that is used by many microorganisms, just as there is a defense against them: the so-called resistance to antibiotics.
The antibiotics wipe out those bacteria that are not resistant to them. If used correctly in case of illness, they wipe out 100% of the bacteria. If the dosage is incorrect, however, a percentage that becomes more or less resistant will survive.
Prescribing the wrong antibiotic treatments promotes the survival of resistant bacteria. These bacteria can then pass on genes to their descendants as well as to other bacteria that help them develop resistance to the pharmaceutical agents.
Further wrong treatments can strengthen this protection, which then leads to multi-resistant bacteria.
Antibiotic resistance in veterinary medicine
Human health has played a very important role in antibiotic resistance.
If you use antibiotics against viral diseases (when they are actually intended against bacterial diseases), if you do not pay attention to the guidelines or if you use old tablets from previous treatments, you promote resistance.
However, the reasons for antibiotic resistance can also be found in veterinary medicine.
This applies to domestic animals, but especially to livestock. In some industrial operations, so-called antibiotic therapy is used for entire herds as a preventive measure.
The fight against antibiotic resistance
In both human and animal medicine, different methods are used today to combat antibiotic resistance.
There are various institutions and strategies that help make antibiotic use more responsibly.
To do this, you work with doctors and veterinarians. The use of antibiotics and the appearance of resistant microorganisms are now better monitored.
Institutions such as the World Health Organization also call for critical antibiotics to be identified. These are the ones that fight multi-resistant bacteria. They should be used as little as possible unless absolutely necessary.
Control of this resistance occurs on several fronts. There are laboratory networks, identification, diagnosis and sensitivity tests are encouraged and new guidelines for use are drawn up.
Infections are reduced by increasing hygiene and biosecurity, which then further optimizes the use of antibiotics.
We humans must therefore become aware of the responsible use of antibiotics and always follow the instructions of the treating doctor or veterinarian.
