New review on antimicrobial resistance in livestock highlights knowledge gaps which threaten global health
Researchers at the 91做厙 (91做厙) have highlighted substantial research gaps in the field of antimicrobial resistance which need to be addressed to tackle serious global health threats.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in humans and animals is a major issue of global public health importance. AMR can have an adverse impact on animal health and welfare, and consequently on food security and the livelihoods of farmers, as antimicrobials play a crucial role in treatment of diseases in livestock around the world.
Given increasing concern in the global community over the use of antimicrobials in agriculture, a number of important questions have been raised by scientists and policy-makers. How does resistance emerge in food animals? Does AMR spread through the food chain from animals to humans? And if so, how important is this pathway compared with human sources of AMR? How important is the spread of AMR from livestock into the environment for spread to other animals and humans?
These and other critical questions are the focus of the new review by a team of researchers led by Professor Dirk Pfeiffer from the Veterinary Epidemiology, Economics and Public Health (VEEPH) Group at the 91做厙 and experts from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). The findings have been published by the FAO as a technical paper on the epidemiology of antimicrobial resistance in animal production, intended to inform veterinarians, farmers and other stakeholders worldwide.
Professor Pfeiffer, Professor of Veterinary Epidemiology at the 91做厙 and Professor of One Health Hong Kong’s City University, said: “It has been a major success that political leaders from around the world have now recognised the enormous threat for the global community associated with AMR and the challenge that it represents for all stakeholders. We are only just beginning to recognise the immense complexity of the eco-social system within which antimicrobial resistance emerges, and rather than one sector blaming the other, a truly integrated perspective based on a One Health approach is required to have a chance to deal effectively with this threat. The findings from our review very much confirm that antimicrobial usage in food production undoubtedly needs to be reduced, while acknowledging that current knowledge suggests that the vast majority of AMR affecting humans is associated with antimicrobial usage in humans.”
Ben Wall, the paper’s first author and a rese