Unchecked Animal Antibiotic Use in China Creates Deadlier Bacteria

Antibiotics have been used to treat livestock for years. Now, a new study seems to confirm what everyone has feared. The growing number of antibiotic resistant genes (ARGs) mirrors the increased production and use of antibiotics.

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy and Sciences, examined Chinese commercial pig farms. There, researchers found 149 unique ARGs, some of which were at levels 192 to 28,000 times higher than control samples. Although the research itself took place in China, it also reflect what is happening in other locations across the globe.

Currently, antibiotics are weakly regulated. There is no requirement to report in what species agricultural antibiotics are used in both China and the U.S.   The country, on average, uses four times more antibiotics for veterinary use than the U.S. Since the medicine is poorly absorbed by animals, most of it ends up as manure--700 million tons of it annually from China. This manure is then spread as fertilizer and ends up in rivers or groundwater which allows ARGs to spread further afield.

Since microbes reproduce so quickly, daily exposure to antibiotics allows those carrying ARGs to thrive. In essence, farms that use too many antibiotics are creating the perfect breeding grounds for bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. This is particularly worrisome since it can cause infections that can't be treated as they normally would be.

That isn't the end of the issues, though. ARGs can also reach the general population through food crops, drinking water and interactions with farm workers. Because of this, ARGs could pose a potential global risk to human health.

This study shows that more care needs to be taken when using antibiotics in farming. Otherwise, these practices could create deadly strains of bacteria that can't be treated with antibiotics. In addition, it shows that scientists need to find alternate ways to treat diseases that may arise with these practices.