Govt plans to ban antibiotic colistin used to fatten chicken
NEW DELHI: The government has proposed a ban on the use of antibiotic colistin that is widely used in the meat and poultry industry in India to make animals grow faster.
The usage of colistin, an antibiotic of last resort, and other such drugs in livestock have been linked to antibiotic resistance in humans. Continued use of such antibiotics in farming renders them useless when treating patients, according to public health experts.
An investigation carried out by London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism had earlier this year found that chickens raised in India were dosed with some of the strongest antibiotics available. It revealed the use of colistin by companies such as Venky’s, the biggest supplier of chicken products to fast-food outlets such as McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and KFC.
Venky’s has said it uses antibiotics only for therapeutic reasons, according to a story in Scroll.in on February 2.
Government agencies including the department of animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, ministry of agriculture and farmers’ welfare, ministry of health and family welfare and the drug controller general of India have examined the issue and recommended that colistin cannot be used. Further, India’s top drug advisory body at its meeting held on November 29 decided that the drug should be banned for use in animals. Doctors call colistin a “last hope” antibiotic because it is used to treat patients with infections resistant to most drugs. The Drugs Technical Advisory Board deliberated on the issue and recommended a ban on the use of colistin in an attempt to stem the rising threat of antimicrobial resistance, said two people aware of the matter, requesting anonymity.
India’s drug regulator has received representation from Dr Abdul Ghafur, coordinator, Chennai declaration on antimic- robial resistance, and technical advisory member, national antibiotic policy, regarding the urgent ban of growth promotional use of colistin in poultry and aqua farming.
The drug in question helps chickens gain weight faster. During its investigation, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism was able to buy Venky’s colistin in India without a prescription. It found that growth-promoting antibiotics, including colistin, remain widely available to Indian farmers through a number of international and domestic pharmaceutical firms. “The Bureau found multiple examples of Indian drug manufacturers selling colistin as a growth promoter for chickens,” said its report.