Essay Sample on Overuse of Antibiotics in Livestock

Antibiotics are medications that destroy or slow down the growth of bacteria and are used to treat diseases caused by bacteria. Just like human, animals need medicines to help them fight and prevent specific infections. Antibiotics are administered to animals in feeds marginally within a specified period and usually improve the growth rates and prevent infections. However, the growing concern is on the overuse of antibiotics on animal feeds. This essay explores the overuse of antibiotics in livestock. It also captures the causes and effects of the overuse of antibiotics in livestock. In many countries, there are restrictions on the use of antibiotics in livestock agriculture. In 2006, the European Union banned the overuse of antibiotics as a growth promoter for the livestock. The restrictions of antibiotics prevent diseases not only in retail meat but also in retail meat. Significant causes of the use of antibiotics include; increased emergency of bacteria occurring worldwide. Use of antibiotics, the resistance is developed by the change of mutations. Some mutations allow bacteria to produce chemicals that inactivate antibiotics forcing overuse of antibiotics. In the United States, the estimated livestock production is 132million tones from cattle, swine, and poultry. The medicines are not absorbed by the animal, implying three-quarters of the antibiotics released in livestock bodies due to the resistant by the bacteria; the livestock exit it via feces and urine.

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There are various requirements to determine the effect of antibiotics bacteria resistance in livestock body. Water quality measurement must perform the upstream and downstream when antibiotics are overused. The over usage of the medicines is aimed at promoting growth in livestock health. Lack of regulation on the usage of these antibiotics led to surface and groundwater contamination. Failure to enough water supplies, the tests to determine the antibiotic-resistant bacteria would not be sufficient. The overuse of antibiotics causes significant risks to livestock health. The administered levels of antibiotics resistant bacteria can be found in water in drinking and for agricultural purpose. To eliminate this problem in livestock, there is a need for a ban of all non-therapeutic and sub-therapeutic.

Disposal of livestock wastes causes harm to human health. It is believed that the bacterium that has become resistant and can no longer be treated with antibiotics is likely to cause severe problems to human health. Therefore, veterinary practitioners are encouraged to consider relevant factors when determining the risks of bacterial diseases in livestock. A significant effect of the overuse of antibiotics is the transmission of infections to humans. The transfer of viruses can take place in mediums such as physical contact, through body fluid and aerosol. The infected individual can be admitted to the hospital because it is difficult to identify the drug-resistant to that infection.

In conclusion, I believe regulations are governing and permitting dispose of animal wastes in all countries. Therefore, I think all farmers and livestock keepers must follow the USDA's standards calling to untreated manure before disposing it to the soil. This will ensure that the remaining antibiotics would be non-functioning, although this could harm the economy because failure to use the antibiotics implies reduced production and on overall reduced profits. Research done by scholars and veterinaries from different countries shows that if the overuse of antibiotics in animals is not diminished, there is increased danger of widespread human epidemics.

References

Aarestrup, F. (2012). Get pigs off antibiotics: Frank Aarestrup explains how he helped Denmark to cut the use of antibiotics in its livestock by 60%, and calls on the rest of the world to follow suit. Nature, 486(7404), 465-467.

Martin, M. J., Thottathil, S. E., & Newman, T. B. (2015). Antibiotics overuse in animal agriculture: a call to action for health care providers.