Antibiotic-resistant genes are being spread all over the world in animal feed.

Antibiotic-resistant genes are being spread all over the world in animal feed, scientists discover.Ten million people could die every year by 2050 if the rise of superbugs is not checked, experts have warned. Antibiotic-resistant genes are being spread around the world in animal feed, according to new research that adds to fears humanity could lose one of our most important medicines.

How to use green tea leaves to boost production in poultry.

The use of green tea as a feed additive to boost production in poultry has shown immense benefits in terms of quality of birds,size of eggs and the growth phase with the birds reaching maturity faster. 

The race to start production in poultry without antibiotics has brought a lot of innovations with many scholars turning to plants and plant extracts and herbs to boost production. 

 A study in Bangladesh has shown that antibiotic-free poultry production is possible by using green tea as a feed additive.The study showed that 0.25% of green tea ,250 grams in every 100 kilograms of feed as feed additive could bring better results than the use of antibiotics in poultry production. 

 Another study showed the potency of green tea additive as a potent deworming agent and also as an anticoccidial agent. Birds fed the extract demonstrated better gut health as demonstrated by absence of coccidiosis in the flock. Birds were bigger than birds not fed the tea extracts,as the birds had better feed utilization thus promoting growth. 

The green tea extract contains flavonoids which are powerful antioxidants, amino acids, xanthine alkaloids, vitamin and minerals, which are safe for humans making the extract a substitute for antibiotic growth promoters.

Antimicrobial Resistance(AMR) : Herbal intervention in dairy farming to curb antibiotic use.

Antibiotic residues in food and milk also have health consequences for humans. In China, a widespread presence of veterinary antibiotic residues was detected in schoolchildren. Long-term exposure to these antibiotics, which may come from contaminated food or water, is connected to obesity. Some antibiotics, such as penicillin and sulfa drugs, also are known to cause allergies in humans, yet these drugs have been found in animal products due to legal or illegal use. 

 The most urgent problem related to antibiotic overuse is the development of drug resistance—when bacteria evolve to become stronger “superbugs” that are able to survive subsequent antibiotic applications. 

 This resistance makes it increasingly difficult to cure bacterial infections in livestock as well as in humans, since many human medicines rely on the same types of drugs being used for livestock. Losing the effectiveness of antimicrobials renders many medical therapies increasingly risky, including organ transplantation and cancer chemotherapy, due to the danger of untreatable infection. 

 A common problem on dairy farms—especially large-scale industrial farms—is mastitis, an udder infection that is responsible for 16.5 percent of dairy cattle deaths in the United States. In addition to shortening the cows’ lifespans, mastitis results in the production of lower-quality milk, with lower cheese yield and a shorter shelf life. 

 To address this and other health problems throughout the dairy industry, many farmers apply antibiotics and other anti-inflammatory drugs. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, around 90 percent of dairy cows with mastitis in the United States are treated with these drugs. In many other countries, especially in the developing world, antibiotics are sold over the counter, and their use on dairy cows is not measured or recorded. 

 Herbal treatments offer a new mindset for health. Rather than simply replacing the one-shot mechanism of antibiotics, the Ayurvedic application of medicinal herbs (like that of Chinese traditional medicines) acts via a more multi-faceted mechanism, centered on restoring balance and regaining the body’s own resilience to disease. 

Farmers are turning to medicinal plants in recognition of this underexploited and undervalued holistic approach. To address health risks, the government of the Netherlands announced in 2010 an ambitious goal to reduce the use of antibiotics in animal farming by 70 percent, compared with a 2009 baseline. 

To maintain the quality of the milk while also reducing antibiotic use, dairy farmers looked around the world for solutions. With the help of a Dutch non-governmental organization, Natural Livestock Farming, farmers found inspiration in India. more

Super bugs,games and antibiotic resistance.

A new game aims to raise awareness of the growing threat of superbugs - antibiotic-resistant bacteria that could cause serious health problems for humanity in the near future. Developed by Preloaded, Superbugs puts players in charge of battling rapidly mutating bacteria in a Petri dish. As cells replicate, you administer doses of antibiotics to wipe them out, leaving only the resistant red cells. Gameplay consists of keeping the dish clear, while a timer counts down on new drug research to wipe out the stronger strains. Chillingly, given the game is meant to mirror the real-world battle against superbugs, defeat is inevitable, as bacteria multiplies and mutates faster than research - or you, as the player - can keep up with. The mobile game launches in partnership with the Longitude Prize, a five-year challenge with a £10 million prize fund which aims to solve the problem of global antibiotic resistance. Make no mistake, this is a major challenge facing the world's healthcare authorities. At the end of 2015, bacteria resistant to colistin were discovered. As colistin is considered a "last resort" for treatment of strains that have grown immune to other antibiotics, this is a significant problem. Without constant research and development of new drugs, some projections forecast up to 10m deaths per year by 2050. "We know our daily behaviours - like sharing and overusing antibiotics - can lead to bacteria becoming drug-resistant, so it's really important we increase awareness around this huge issue," said Longitude Prize spokesperson Tamar Ghosh. "It's especially important to reach young people and games like this are a fantastic way of doing that." Superbugs, available now for Android and iOS devices, is aimed at improving basic scientific understanding of how bacteria mutate and become drug-resistant, while reinforcing how small changes in human behaviour - such as proper consumption of prescribed antibiotics - can slow their spread. Superbugs takes the complex science behind the spread of antibiotic resistance in bacteria and models it as a casual mobile game that's not only great fun to play but scientifically sound," said Phil Stuart, Creative Director of Preloaded. "Games are the perfect medium to reach millions of people and make complex ideas understandable." The Longitude Prize launched in 2014, seeking ideas on how to tackle the rise of drug-resistant bacteria - ideally, "a diagnostic tool that can rule out antibiotic use or help identify an effective antibiotic to treat a patient." While Superbugs alone won't do that, the hope is it gets more people thinking about the problem - and a solution. Contributed by wired.co.uk

HONEY A TOOL TO CURB ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE.

Honey is very useful in wound healing aside other benefits, but the wound healing properties are now extended to include the prevention of antibiotic resistance. Swedish researchers have successfully cured treatment-resistant wounds in horses, using a mixture of various lactic acid bacteria found in bees' honey stomachs and honey itself. The successful trial could help the medical community overcome the growing problem of global antibiotic resistance.Honey inhibits the formation of bio films, or communities of slimy disease-causing bacteria .Honey weakens bacterial virulence, rendering the bacteria more susceptible to conventional antibiotics. Honey is effective because it is filled with healthful poly phenols, or antioxidants.Honey has antibacterial, anti fungal and antiviral properties ,thats why its used in wound treatment and it has found tremendous use in cases of burns. watch video here;http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/832495e7f0e5390d05caf25e59f87643.htm

ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE IN HORSES.

The use of antimicrobial s in food animals have been linked to the emergence of antibiotic resistance in man and animals as well.The emergence of the super bugs has been the light on the way food animals are raised and managed,with people clamoring for antibiotic-free livestock production.Antibiotics in livestock should be used as treatment protocol and not as growth promoters in animals,because these residues do more harm to man that consume these animals.These antibiotic residues have been linked to several ailments plaguing man today. The antibiotic resistance war has enveloped the companion animals as well as other pets, a lot of pet lover/owners and handlers abuse the use of antibiotics as well resulting in resistance which affects their owners as well.The E.coli infection affecting man and animals are borne from gross misuse of antibiotics ; a recent study shows the resistance in horses; new review in the Equine Veterinary Journal reveals that antimicrobial resistance is prevalent in bacteria from horses, particularly E. coli. Also, while methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) can be common in hospitalized horses, it is less frequently present in the general equine population. The emergence of multidrug resistance in many other bacterial species, however, represents a huge challenge for society. Read more here http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151120182819.htm

Resistance to 'Last-Resort' Antibiotic Found in China

CHINA - Scientists in China have found increased levels of resistance to an antimicrobial drug used when other drugs have failed, according to a report in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases. The scientists were conducting routine surveillance for antibiotic resistance in E. coli when they found the resistant specimen in a pig. They also found on further investigation that the type of resistance carried can be easily transferred to other bacteria. The resistance gene was found in 15 per cent of E. coli collected from raw meat samples, 21 per cent of samples from animals and 1 per cent of samples from inpatients with infection.The scientists said that urgent global action was needed to fight antimicrobial resistance.Read more ; http://www.thepoultrysite.com/poultrynews/36184/resistance-to-lastresort-antibiotic-found-in-china/

Pet owners blamed for increasing risk of MRSA and E.coli by not following animal medicine instructions.

Pet owners who fail to follow their vet’s advice when giving medicines to their animals are increasing the risk of antibiotic resistance of bacteria which can pass between pets and people, Public Health England (PHE) has warned. The government health body, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) and animal charity the Bella Moss Foundation (BMF) are calling on Britons with sick pets to ensure they use antibiotics as directed. This comes amid growing concern over antibiotic-resistant bacteria, such as MRSA, campylobacter, salmonella, and E.coli.Infections caused by resistant bacteria are a major threat to human and animal health, with treatment options increasingly limited, warns PHE. Read more here;http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/pet-owners-blamed-for-increasing-risk-of-mrsa-and-ecoli-by-not-following-animal-medicine-a6738446.html

Antimicrobial Resistance : how antibiotic use and misuse results in antibiotic resistance.

The misuse of antibiotics in animals and man has resulted in antibiotic resistance which is a global concern.Drug resistant bacteria are responsible for hundreds of deaths,and this has been estimated to reach millions in the coming years if no action is initiated. Scientist/researchers have been at the fore front of plans to stop this menace,


President Obama has also given his voice to the fight against superbugs. The white house budget include a big funding to stop the antibiotic resistance problem, which is to be channeled to the development of the breakthrough drug "TEIXOBACTIN".

This drug has been discovered to be more potent than existing antibiotics and has been proven that many bacteria strains are susceptible to it,confirming its efficacy. The drug was discovered in the soil and holds a possible remedy to end the antibiotic resistance scourge. 

 In another development,a group of researchers in Tel Aiv university have come up with the use of a virus that makes the antibiotic-resistant bacteria sick and weak ,such that its killed off by the drug.

 A paper recently published of the proceedings of the national academy of sciences; prof Udi Qimron and his team showed how a bacteriophage; a virus that infects and replicates within a bacterium, changes the DNA ,crippling the activity of a protein that allows it to maintain its cell structure
without the protein ,the bacteria essentially collapses on itself,the bacteria is destroyed totally and becomes easy to combat with this current antibiotic.

 The war on antibiotic resistance has started with various sectors innovating new methods and approaches to save human lives and our world. Join the move now!!!! Resist indiscriminate antibiotic use in animal production to prevent antibiotic resistance!!!