Reducing poultry density can result in fewer infections in humans with antibiotic resistant bacteria, the former director of the department for risk assessment of the Dutch Food Authority of the Ministry of Agriculture said.
Dr. Ir. Wim De Wit told attendees at VIV Asia 2013 that there is a link between antibiotic use in poultry and antibiotic resistance in humans.
"It's a growing problem, and we have to be very reluctant in the use of antibiotics," said De Wit. "We have to reserve the better ones for men, and there's a strong need for new medicines to treat resistant strains. That's why I say the microbes fight back, and the system is overloaded. What can we do? One of the possibilities is to limit the density of farm animals."
De Wit showed an example of where a monitoring program was done in the Netherlands during a 2003 outbreak of avian influenza, and areas where poultry was culled matched up with reductions of infections in humans with antibiotic resistant bacteria.
And while The Netherlands has been active in fighting problems with antibiotic resistance, De Wit urged others to get involved.
"It has no use if the only the Netherlands, which is a small place, is working very hard on it and others don't," he said. "The feed and food producers, the farmers, the vets, the retailers, the consumers — the whole production chain is responsible."
Dr. Ir. Wim De Wit told attendees at VIV Asia 2013 that there is a link between antibiotic use in poultry and antibiotic resistance in humans.
"It's a growing problem, and we have to be very reluctant in the use of antibiotics," said De Wit. "We have to reserve the better ones for men, and there's a strong need for new medicines to treat resistant strains. That's why I say the microbes fight back, and the system is overloaded. What can we do? One of the possibilities is to limit the density of farm animals."
De Wit showed an example of where a monitoring program was done in the Netherlands during a 2003 outbreak of avian influenza, and areas where poultry was culled matched up with reductions of infections in humans with antibiotic resistant bacteria.
And while The Netherlands has been active in fighting problems with antibiotic resistance, De Wit urged others to get involved.
"It has no use if the only the Netherlands, which is a small place, is working very hard on it and others don't," he said. "The feed and food producers, the farmers, the vets, the retailers, the consumers — the whole production chain is responsible."
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