Animal antibiotic resistance passes in their urine to soil
and then gives rise to antibiotic resistance among people, claims a new study
from Washington State University.
They studied cephalosporin which contributes to antibiotic
resistance in humans.
Seven months ago, the United States Food and Drug
Administration curbed the use of the drug by issuing new rules on extra-label
prescriptions for cattle, pigs, chickens and turkeys.
Cephalosporins came to market in 1964.
Although bacterial resistance to cephalosporins has long
been studied, and researchers knew it doesn’t develop in an animal’s gut, they
didn’t know how it spread until the researchers at Washington State University
decided to examine soils.
“Even short-term persistence in soil provides [an] advantage to
resistant E. coli populations, resulting in significantly prolonged persistence
of these bacteria in the soil,” the researchers say in this month’s issue of
the journal PLOS ONE.
They found that — especially in warm weather — a variety of bacteria may
develop resistance within 24 hours, including E. coli and salmonella. Newer
cephalosporins on the market are used to treat salmonella and shigella,
especially in children.
In animal agriculture, cephalosporins are used to treat bacterial
pneumonia in pigs and cattle and to control early mortality in chicks and
turkey poults. The FDA had singled out the use of ceftiofur in dairy
cattle as a concern, saying dairy farmers often fail to keep required records.
In the Washington State study, the researchers suggest that on-farm
interventions —such as bioremediation, the addition of adsorption agents or
improved waste management — may help stem the rise of antibiotic resistance.
