Yahoo – AFP,
August 24, 2017
Scientists have for decades argued there is a link between antibiotic use in animals and the loss of effectiveness of these drugs in human medicine (AFP Photo/MIRA OBERMAN) |
New York
(AFP) - McDonalds says it will start globally rolling back use of antibiotics
in its chicken products from 2018 as part of efforts to curb microbial
resistance to drugs and the rise of superbugs.
The
decision follows a similar move undertaken in the US market in 2016.
It applies
to drugs that are also used in human medicine, called Highest Priority
Critically Important Antimicrobials (HPCIA) by the World Health Organization
(WHO).
"Starting
in 2018, we will begin implementing a new broiler chicken antibiotics policy in
markets around the world," the company said in a statement issued
Wednesday.
By 2018,
HPCIAs will be eliminated in broiler chicken for the Brazil, Canada, Japan,
South Korea, the US, and Europe. An exception will be made for the antibiotic
colistin for Europe only.
The policy
will be extended for Australia and Russia by the end of 2019, when the colistin
exception for Europe will be made phased out.
It will be
fully implemented globally by January 2027, although the firm said: "Our
goal is to have this policy implemented before this date."
Scientists
have for decades argued there is a link between antibiotic use in animals and
the dwindling effectiveness of these drugs in human medicine.
Industrial-scale
poultry farmers often use antibiotics not to treat outbreaks of disease in
their flocks but to prevent it from occurring.
Some also
use the drugs to help birds gain weight more quickly. Certain antibiotics
destroy bacteria in the gut, which means that the chicken can convert feed to
muscle faster.
Among
humans, causes of resistance include the overprescription of antibiotics and
patients failing to take the correct dosage, which allows a residual population
of germs to survive and rebound.
According
to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at least two million
people in the US become infected with bacteria that are resistant to
antibiotics every year, leading to 23,000 deaths.
According
to some estimates, drug-resistant bacteria may within decades be causing more
deaths than cancer.
The US
Consumers Union, a non-profit advocacy group, hailed the decision.
"The
widespread use of antibiotics on livestock that aren't sick is contributing to
a global public health crisis with potentially dire consequences," said
Jean Halloran, director of the organization's food policy initiatives.
She added:
"We commend McDonald's for setting these goals and urge all fast food
chains to use their market clout to protect public health before it's too
late."
The WHO's
list of HCIAs falls into five categories: quinolones; third-generation
cephalosporins; macrolides and ketolides; glycopeptides; and polymyxins.
These drugs
are notably frontline medications in the fight against salmonella, enterobacter
and E. coli infections.
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