Antimicrobial Resistance In Indian Poultry: Cause, Concern, And Measure

Posted by maria on February 16th, 2021

Gone are the days when poultry farming was a simple backyard activity. Over the last few decades, poultry farming has become a full-fledged business where birds are bred with the intent to sell them in the market. Modern practices have taken over traditional once and most poultry farms give antibiotics to poultry these days. This is to ensure that the flock is healthy and the loss of poultry is significantly reduced. This not only protects the poultry from diseases that would otherwise easily infect them but also helps the poultry farming business with less loss of birds and more profit in the market. However, there is one term that we constantly keep hearing these days – antimicrobial resistance or AMR. What is it exactly?

In layman’s terms, antimicrobial resistance is the ability of microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, viruses, etc to invalidate the effect of antimicrobial drugs, which results in the drugs becoming ineffective. This usually happens when the intake of antibiotics is more than what it needs to be. The problem with the use of antibiotics in Indian poultry is that they are often used as growth promoters. When the poultry is fed antibiotics and we then consume the meat from the said poultry, there is a chance the AMR could be transmitted to us. This is a major concern that is often overlooked. If not looked into, it could result in a world where antibiotics will become ineffective for humans, resulting in an increase in diseases and death.

There are no laws against the use of antibiotics and vaccination for chicken as of now. But as a concerned human being, it is wise to incorporate a systematic approach when it comes to administering antibiotics to poultry. And honestly speaking, excess intake of antibiotics is bad for the poultry as well. It is important to generate awareness about this subject. By being vigilant about this issue, not only are we protecting the humans from antimicrobial resistance, but also keeping the birds safe. After all, they need to be treated with care and affection too.