Contributed by: Siddarth D & Dr. Tamhankar
A recent report, has shown that
antibiotics are being indiscriminately used in some of India's poultry farms that
supply to commercial outlets like Suguna Chicken, McDonalds and KFC in the
country. The report uncovered that in the state of Telangana, poultry framers
were using antibiotics on chickens without any set instructions. Interviews
with farmers indicated that antibiotics, permitted only for veterinary use in
India, were often viewed as vitamins and supplements by the farm owners and
given to chickens. Poultry farmers were using levofloxacin, ciprofloxacin and
gentamicin as regular medicines for the poultry without being aware of the
consequences of using them.
This alarming finding, reinforces the findings of study conducted by the Centre for Science and Education (CSE), New Delhi which
found that nearly 40 per cent of poultry being sold in Delhi had high levels of
antibiotics like ciprofloxacin. S.K. Dutta, assistant commissioner of the
department of animal husbandry in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers
Welfare reacted to the report by saying that antibiotic use in animals was a
critical area that has yet to be dealt with by policy, leaving many farmers to use
them without prescriptions from their chemists. He stated that new measures would be introduced to address this problem.
Without clear policy guidelines in
the country, India has yet to regulate the use of antibiotics in animals, which
therefore remains unchecked and under studied. This report should be a waking
call for health policy makers and experts that while there has been
considerable work done on controlling antibiotic use in humans, neglecting use in
animals can be serious obstacle in the battle against antibiotic resistance.
