agriculture policy brief
Antimicrobial resistance
July 2019
he widespread use of antimicrobials in human medicine and in food animal production has T contributed to the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens worldwide. here is great concern that drug-resistant organisms may seriously threaten public health, T animal health and welfare, and environmental health. here is growing evidence of the transmission of resistance between animals and humans, and T vice versa. olicy makers in human health, animal health and the food chain, and the environment must P improve coherence and work together to enable a holistic “One-Health” approach to address the threat from antimicrobial resistance.
What’s the issue? Antimicrobials are compounds that either kill or constrain bacteria, viruses, fungi or protozoa. Their use in animal production can improve both animal health and productivity, and thus contribute to food security, food safety, animal welfare, protection of livelihoods and animal resources. However, the efficacy of antimicrobials to treat disease can be reduced when the bacteria found in humans, animals, food and the environment becomes increasingly resistant. Although resistance is a natural phenomenon, current levels of resistance in humans are, in part, due to the use of antimicrobials in animal production. Resistant bacteria can spread to humans through direct contact or through the environment, including via contaminated water or directly via the food chain. In addition to the treatment of sick animals (and the protection of healthy animals in contact with sick ones), antimicrobials are still used for growth promotion in animal production systems in some countries. With the growing awareness of the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), many countries have phased out the use of antimicrobials for this purpose. There is a common perception amongst livestock producers that the benefits of antibiotics in production outweigh the costs, but this depends on several factors, especially: the biosecurity standards on the farm, housing standards, nutrition, breeding and management of the
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farm. In the long-run, however, the negative spill-over effects of antibiotic resistance can have major social, economic and environmental impacts.
Addressing the challenge Finding the level of antimicrobial use that optimises the economic and technical performance on animal farms continues to be a major challenge. While much of the work to date has focussed on developing technical standards, there is a major information gap with respect to the economic dimension associated with antimicrobial use in animal production, which can adversely impact decisions at the farm level. To help address this challenge, the OECD is working to evaluate the real benefits and costs of antibiotics in production, and to assess the costs of alternative measures to prevent and control the outbreak of disease in farm animals. The analysis shows that the use of antibiotics in animal production has fallen dramatically in most European Countries over the last decade. This drop can be attributed to the EU’s decision to phase out antibiotics for growth promotion in 2006, and the reduction in antibiotic use for disease prevention. In several important livestock producing countries like Brazil and China, however, usage continues to be high (and in some species increasing).
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Antimicrobial resistance This can be attributed to higher profit margins from animal growth on the farm, to lower biosecurity measures in some production systems, and to a lack of access to alternative interventions at affordable prices. Our research has also found that the growth response to antimicrobials is small when nutrition, hygiene practices, the genetic potential of animals and health status of the herd or flock are optimal. This would suggest that a ban on antimicrobials for growth promotion Antimicrobials used for growth promotion could have limited impact on livestock productivity in industrialised countries with modern production systems. However, the costs of investing in improved hygiene practices are potentially significant, and countries with less developed systems could benefit as well.
What should policy makers do? •
Encourage the collection and sharing of economic information and best practice on current levels of antimicrobial use in the livestock sector.
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Support the development of international technical standards and approaches by the World Health Organisation, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization to mitigate the rise in AMR.
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Facilitate and support the research on developing a better understanding of the economic benefits and costs associated with antimicrobial use in animal production.
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Facilitate the development of alternative interventions to manage animal disease and, in particular, the cost effectiveness of alternative interventions to antimicrobials in animal production.
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Enhance dialogue between all particular in human health and enable a holistic “One Health” recognises the linkages between and the environment.
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Ensure that national strategies on antimicrobial use are consistent with international recommendations, such as the WHO Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance and the OIE guidelines.
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Further reading • Rushton, J., J. Pinto Ferreira and K. Stärk (2014), “Antimicrobial Resistance: The Use of Antimicrobials in the Livestock Sector”, OECD Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Papers, No. 68, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi. org/10.1787/5jxvl3dwk3f0-en. • Ryan, M. (2019), “Evaluating the economic benefits and costs of antimicrobial use in foodproducing animals”, OECD Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Papers, No. 132, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/f859f644-en. • Morel, C. (2019), “Transmission of antimicrobial resistance from livestock agriculture to humans and from humans to animals”, OECD Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Papers, No. 133, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/ fcf77850-en. • Wu, Z. (2019), “Antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance in food-producing animals in China”, OECD Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Papers, No. 134, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi. org/10.1787/4adba8c1-en. • Cardoso, M. (2019), “Antimicrobial use, resistance and economic benefits and costs to livestock producers in Brazil”, OECD Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Papers, No. 135, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi. org/10.1787/27137b1e-en.
stakeholders, in animal health to approach, which animals, humans
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