Antimicrobial resistance: Impacting on human and animal health
A recent report by Citi Research outlined the projected impact of Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) on human health and its associated economic impact, alongside how companies, including INDICAL, are helping to mitigate this (1).
The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as one of the top 10 threats to global public health (2). The use of antibiotics in agriculture is widely recognized as a significant contributing factor to AMR, with the link between antibiotic use in farming and resistance in human infections well documented.
Reducing the use of antibiotics to prevent diseases conversely increases the demand for vaccines, as well as accurate disease testing – which is where INDICAL comes in.
Antibiotics in livestock farming
Antibiotics have been used in farming for over six decades and the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics estimates that 66% of all antibiotics are used in farm animals (3). But things are changing.
- In 2006, the EU moved to ban the use of antibiotics for growth promotion.
- In 2013, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) established a voluntary phase-out over 3 years of shared-class antibiotics (i.e., antibiotics used in both animal and human health).
- In 2017, the WHO recommended that animals only receive antibiotics for veterinary purposes and that healthy animals only receive antibiotics to prevent disease where other animals in the same herd, flock, etc. have been diagnosed with a disease.
An interesting insight into consumer preferences arose from survey work by Global Opportunity Explorer, which indicated that 37% of consumers were willing to pay a price premium of >$1 per pound for antibiotic free meat, and 86% of consumers would prefer antibiotic-free meat at their local grocery store.
The role of precision diagnostics in reducing AMR
As antibiotic use declines through greater awareness, regulation and legislation and consumer preference, there is an increased focus on disease prevention, point-of-care testing and early detection of outbreaks. It’s here that INDICAL’s precision diagnostics play a key role in helping to identify, prevent, monitor, and eradicate animal diseases.
Learn more about our complete solutions for molecular and immunological veterinary testing and how we strive to improve veterinary diagnostics for better animal and human health at www.indical.com.
References
- Citi Research. Global ESG & SRI: Antimicrobial Resistance and the link to Animal Health. 29 Nov 2021.
- https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antimicrobial-resistance. Accessed 24 January 2022.
- https://www.saveourantibiotics.org/. Accessed 24 January 2022. a
