ROME, Italy (Thomson Reuters Foundation) — Developing countries are using livestock antibiotics at such a startling rate that they are dramatically increasing the risk of creating drug-resistant bacteria, scientists have warned.
Global antibiotic use in animals is expected to surge by two-thirds from 2010-30 while doubling in emerging giants such as China, Brazil, India and Russia, according to a Princeton University study.
It warned that the practice is pushing the world closer to a time when common infections could become a death sentence because they will no longer respond to drugs.
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Urbanization, increased wealth and changing diets in developing countries mean industrial livestock producers are expanding rapidly.
The systematic use of low doses in livestock is creating “perfect conditions to grow resistant bacteria,” said co-author Tim Robinson, a scientist with the International Livestock Research Institute.
Bacteria such as E. coli and salmonella are already be-coming resistant to antibiotics, which increases fears that these diseases will endanger humans.
He said antibiotic resistant bacteria are passed from animals to people through food contamination, direct contact and the broader environment, which makes it harder for doctors to treat basic infections and other ailments.
Asia is the main region of concern because it is where demand for livestock products is growing dramatically, while regulations governing antibiotic use in animals are either non-existent or not publicly available, scientists say.
China’s livestock industry could soon be using nearly one-third of the world’s antibiotics.
