Humans, Animals, Agriculture

Among the primary cause of bacterial resistance is the use of antibiotics – both where such use is warranted and especially where such use is unwarranted and inappropriate. The disbursement of antibiotics without prescriptions, particularly in low and middle income countries where the controls are weak, have significantly contributed to the rise of resistance in such regions. Although the pattern of resistance to the first-line antibiotics are higher in former group of countries, the numbers are far from promising in the developed world. This problem cannot be reduced to a geographical region, not in the present era of globalization where the world is becoming truly borderless.

In addition to humans, the sub therapeutic use of antibiotics in animals is another major reason for the spread of resistance. Recent reports of resistance to a last report antibiotic – Colistin in China has come as a shock to the world and is reportedly a result of Colistin abuse in animals.

When such animal waste, coupled with untreated hospital discharges and improper waste disposal from industries, is used in the form of fertilizers or water for irrigation and contain drug-resistant bacteria. This could lead to the transfer of such bacteria to the food crops and eventually into the human digestive system. This is a vicious cycle that needs to be abridged requiring a multi-dimensional strategical approach and political commitment.