‘CHICKEN, EGGS MAY MAKE YOU RESISTANT TO ANTIBIOTICS’

The chicken and eggs you consume could be making you resistant to antibiotics, says a new study done in India by the United States-based Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP).

The study — the largest of its kind in India — published on Thursday in Environmental Health Perspectives, found high levels of antibiotic-resistant pathogens in chickens raised for meat and eggs on farms in Punjab. Drug-resistant pathogens, if they find their way into human body, can be difficult to treat.

The Poultry Federation of India (PFI) refuted the claims and said they were careful about the use of growth promoters in India after adverse reports on their use in United States and Europe.

The CDDEP study assumes significance as there has been an increase in demand and consumption for animal products, which has led to the rise in use of antibiotics as growth promoters.

Previous CDDEP studies have projected that across the world, antibiotic consumption in food animal production will rise by 67% by 2030 with India tripling its consumption.

But indiscriminate prescription and use of antibiotics and other medicines has also led to concerns about drug resistance in pathogens that cause infectious diseases like tuberculosis, malaria, urinary tract infection and even human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

“Overuse of antibiotics in animal farms endangers all of us. We must remove antibiotics from the human food chain, except to treat sick animals, or face the increasingly real prospect of a post-antibiotic world,” said Ramanan Laxminarayan, lead investigator and director, CDDEP. “This study has serious implications, not only for India but globally.” Key populations at risk Sex workers

Gay men Prisoners

People who inject drugs

Transgender people HIV prevalence

STUDY FOUND HIGH LEVELS OF PATHOGENS THAT WERE RESISTANT TO ANTIBIOTICS IN CHICKEN RAISED

FOR MEAT AND EGGS ON FARMS IN PUNJAB