Researchers from ETH Zurich, Princeton University and the Free University of Brussels created a map of antimicrobial resistance in low- to middle-income countries since 2000. The proportion of antibiotics showing rates of resistance above 50% increased in developing countries where meat consumption has sharply increased, meaning that antibiotics that could be used for treatment failed more than half the time. The researchers found that antibiotic resistance in livestock was most widespread in China and India, with Brazil and Kenya emerging as new hotspots. Black areas had insufficient data. (Image from ETH Zurich)
The growing appetite for animal protein in developing countries has resulted in a smorgasbord of antibiotic consumption for livestock that has nearly tripled the occurrence of antibiotic resistance in disease-causing bacteria easily transmitted from animals to humans, according to a report in the journal Science.
Researchers from ETH Zurich, Princeton University’s High Meadows Environmental Institute (HMEI), and the Free University of Brussels gathered nearly 1,000 studies and veterinary reports from around the world to create a map of antimicrobial resistance in low- to middle-income countries. They focused on the bacteria Escherichia coli, Campylobacter, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus aureus, all of which cause serious disease in animals and humans.
Between 2000 and 2018, the proportion of antibiotics showing rates of resistance above 50% in developing countries increased in chickens from 0.15 to 0.41 and in pigs from 0.13 to 0.34. This means that antibiotics that could be used for treatment failed more than half the time in 40 percent of chickens and one-third of pigs raised for human consumption.
Since 2000, meat production has accelerated by more than 60% in Africa and Asia, and by 40% in South America. More than half of the world’s chickens and pigs are in Asia.
