Amr safe life defense9/13/2023 However, in too many cases, antibiotics are misused, needlessly creating the conditions in which drug-resistance can emerge. It is our duty to preserve animal health and welfare. Does this mean we should stop using antibiotics? Absolutely not, but it does mean that we need to use them responsibly, and only when necessary.Īntibiotics are vital to global health, and to stop using them when medically justified, is not an option. Every time antibiotics are used, bacteria get a chance to develop resistance. Through natural selection, new resistant variants can thrive and spread. By random genetic mutations and transfer of antimicrobial resistance traits, they can sometimes acquire genes that enable them to survive drugs intended to kill them. Yet, bacteria are very good at adapting to their environments over time. They cure animal diseases such as mastitis in dairy cows, respiratory and urinary tract infections in dogs or streptococcal infections in fish and are key to reducing animal suffering and death. Antibiotics work by killing or limiting the growth of the bacteria that make humans and animals sick. It is a race between humans, who try to cure sickness, and germs such as bacteria, that evolve to survive. How do bacteria become resistant to drugs? While the current burden of disease in animals due to AMR at global level remains unknown, several initiatives are ongoing to estimate it, notably the Global Burden of Animal Diseases programme in which we are actively involved. In order to ensure the efficacy of antimicrobials and secure the health and development gains of these last 50 years, antimicrobial resistance must be contained. It still remains unclear how many human deaths are linked to AMR originated in animals, notably through food-borne infections. Infections such as gonorrhoeae, cystitis or infections linked to routine surgeries such as hip replacement, are becoming harder to cure in humans. Today, new resistant strains of bacteria dangerously affect hospital patients all over the world. The same phenomenon can be observed in human health as well, with antimicrobial resistance emerging from misuse of antibiotics in people. Responsible use of antibiotics and proper disposal of unused and expired drugs, as well as waste from relevant industries ensures that these precious pharmaceuticals stay out of the environment as much as possible and reduces the risk of development of resistant bacteria. Also, antibiotic resistant bacteria of treated animals can be present in manure and, therefore, be disseminated into the environment and to wildlife. They in turn can infect animals and humans that come into contact with them. When antibiotics spill into the soil and waterways, resistant strains of bacteria can emerge in the environment. This in turn affects livelihoods worldwide, as 1.3 billion people rely on livestock for their living and over 20 million people depend on aquaculture. The spread of new resistant strains of bacteria in terrestrial and aquatic animals leads inexorably to an increase in animal suffering and losses. What are the impacts of AMR on animal, human, plant, and environmental health? And everyone–farmers, aquatic animal producers, animal health providers, health care workers, citizens from every country can take action to fight this threat to global health. The good news is that solutions exist to curb the emergence of drug-resistant microbes. It is a growing threat to animal and human health, as well as livelihoods and food security worldwide. Animals and humans are becoming helpless, once again, in the face of infection.īy reversing decades of progress, antimicrobial resistance is one of the greatest global health challenges of our time, becoming a leading cause of death globally. Antimicrobial resistance has led to the emergence of so-called “superbugs”, that are challenging health care workers, veterinarians, and other animal health providers due to a reduction of effective therapeutic options to prevent, control, and treat infectious diseases. The phenomenon is known as “antimicrobial resistance” or AMR. But how long will this last? Many of these life-saving drugs are losing their efficacy as previously susceptible microbes (bacteria, virus, fungi, and microscopic parasites) become resistant. Today, antimicrobials help animals and humans live longer and healthier lives. Before modern medicine, infections due to minor cuts could lead to bloodstream infections or death. Antimicrobial drugs, such as antibiotics that are used to treat bacterial infections, paved the way to better living conditions for humans and animals. They rank among humanity’s most spectacular achievements.
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