The issue of antibiotics resistance among human beings is growing at an alarming rate. According to the Federal Task Force (EFD, 2008) report, the common infections will increasingly continue being scarce and expensive to manage or treat and worse still may become impossible to treat.
This paper is an analysis on the use of antibiotics in the industrial and commercial processes and its effects on human health. The focus is on the meat processing industries and how these practices effects transmission rates and resistance of the antibiotics in human beings.
Analysis of antibiotics resistance among human beings
The antibiotics resistance is a condition transferred from animals’ products to human beings. What threat does improperly managed antibiotic usage in the meat industry pose to human beings? What current industrial policies promote usage of antibiotics in meat processing industries? What ought to be done to reduce this issue of transferring bacterial resistance condition from animals to human beings?
For protection over the consequences incurred, the use of antibiotics on animal food and water ought to be highly reduced. Overuse of antibiotics in animals’ food production is the main contributor to the resistance condition. (EDF, 2007) The reason behind the overuse are claims that, antibiotics promote fast growth in animals and minimizes chances of contacting diseases that are related to movement, overcrowding, strains and unhygienic conditions in the modern industries.
Research indicates that majority of the animal waste contains bacteria that are drugs resistant. The EDF research results of 2007 indicate that over seventy percent of antibiotics and similar drugs in the United States are in use on various domestic animals.
Effects of the use of the antibiotics to animals
The World Health Organization research results indicate that, the resistant bacteria pose a major risk to human population because transmitting occurs directly through food consumption or contaminated environment. The highest risk occurs when a person consumes half-cooked contaminated food or food that comes to contact with infected food. (EDF, 2001) Majority of the antibiotics and the resistant bacteria in animals passes the system without digestion.
The antibiotics are some of the most indispensable implements for most physicians. The EDF (2001) statistics indicates that at any given time, over forty percent of patient at any health facility receives the antibiotics dosage. The inefficiency of the same drugs is significantly evident today because of the common multi drug resistant bacteria or the body’s immunity due to over use.
Not all people suffer from effects of antibiotics condition. Most adults have strong immune systems that are able to fight the disease causing germs with less strain. Venerability depends on the strength of the immune system as well as the age. Children and infants are more venerable than adults are. According to Shea et al (2001), infants are ten times likely to suffer from the germs compared to adults. The old age group is also more venerable with over sixty-five percent being at risk of infection (Shea et al. 2001).
Research also indicates that, various bacterial species are capable of life threatening conditions and remain resistant to most available antibacterial drugs. Some infections are even resistant to newly discovered antibacterial drugs while some illnesses remain untreatable because of their continual diagnosis and prescription.
The continual resistant has affected other environmental components such as wildlife, soil and air thus a cause of alarm in the medical fraternity.
The over prescription and drug misuse are the main causes of the antibiotic resistance conditions. The effectiveness of a drug depreciates due to overuse in both agricultural and human health care settings. Evidently the human antibacterial drugs such as “tetracycline, penicillin and erythromycin” (EDF 2001) are used in the animal health husbandly sectors thus making them less effective even to human beings because they constantly continue to take them unknowingly.
There exists many different and stronger drugs under constant manufacture procedures but the costs remain high thus having to do with the same dosages that are less efficient. According to Shea et al (2001), there are many unnecessary antibacterial prescriptions in the health sectors especially among the outpatients.
This is a global alarm sounding from many worlds’ organizations such as American Medical Association (AMA). World Health Organization (WHO) terms the situation of nourishing animals’ feeds with antibiotics as an unnecessary routine that hinders growth or advancement.
Strategies to reduce potential impacts
The corporate and governmental institutes are having direct impact over decision-making procedures regarding the use of antibacterial drugs in both human beings and animals. There is need for increased pressure to marginalize usage through pressing for reform agendas in drugs selling and manufacturing companies as well as the health care centres.
Companies with close ties to the animal products manufacturing need to embrace strategies of fighting the impact caused by antibiotics resistance. The playing field need levelling for all companies concern with drugs production, distribution and administration.
The drug producing companies ought to be discouraged over manufacturing of antibiotics added to animal feeds as a way of discouraging the already excessive use of non-therapeutic usage of antibiotics, which would rather be medically important to human beings.
Tough campaigns should ensure that companies involved with selling animal products such as restaurants, fast-food outlets, supermarkets, voluntarily resist buying from producers who abuse the medically fit antibacterial with the aim of making high profits.
The government regulations ought to govern usage of drugs as a way of ensuring level playing grounds. None of the meat production industries should have competitive operational advantage over others. In the U.S., the Congress of the “U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)” should ensure removal of the antibacterial drugs from the animal husbandry sectors. Some of the bacterial drugs such as “fluoroquinolone” need prohibition as a way of combating the drug resistance condition. Evidently, some of the most crucial drugs for treating food related illnesses in human beings are on abuse especially among poultry farmers. (FDA, 2008)
On the campaign tactics, the collection of accurate data pertaining usage of antibiotics in both human and animal’s settings and its resistance effects on human beings need publicity and awareness so as to discourage the usage and enlighten the public.
There is no successful strategy, which lacks financial backup. FDA (2008) congress ought to finance the centres for Diseases Control and Prevention for better chances of fighting antibiotics resistance and encourage gathering of data for analysis (Shea et al. 2001).
Conclusion
The main solution to these issues lies upon the companies that are involved in supply, manufacture and usage of drugs. They ought to work closely with the governmental organizations policies and procedure as well as assist other concern non-governmental agencies in gathering and analysis of related information and to come up with ample solutions.
References
EDF. 2001. “Antibiotic Resistance: Playing Chicken with Essential Drugs.” Web.
EDF 2007. “Hold the Antibiotics Please.” . Web.
EDF. 2008. “Innovative Partnerships First To Reduce Antibiotics Use in Mainstream Pork Production.”. Web.
Shea, Katherine, Florini and Barlam. 2001. “When Wonder Drugs Don’t Work.” EDF. Web.