Alfrinando Tamba – by email
How antibiotic resistance affects chickens broiler and the human body? Because chicken broiler the category is short-lived chickens, should new antibiotics be replaced in the next period?
Answer:
Thank you Mr. Tamba for the question. Cases of antibiotic resistance is now a concern and our shared responsibility both from the government, veterinary drug manufacturers, distributors, slaughterhouses (RPA), and farmers (as consumers of veterinary drugs). All relevant parties need to work together synergistically to suppress the occurrence of antibiotic resistance in both livestock and humans as consumers of livestock products.
Antibiotic resistance arises when bacteria develop the ability to defeat drugs designed to overcome them (CDC, 2022). Antibiotic resistance to pathogenic bacteria in chickens broiler may result in treatment failure causing economic losses. This antibiotic resistance has the potential to spread from chicken to chicken, contaminating litter, meat products and polluting the environment (Yang et al, 2019).
Although chicken broiler maintained for a short time, contamination with resistant bacteria in the environment can become a problem in later periods. If cleaning, cage washing, disinfection and empty cages in the next maintenance period are not carried out optimally, then resistant bacteria can survive in the cage environment. Such bacteria can become a source of infection in the maintenance of later periods. Then when treated with antibiotics that have been resistant, sick chickens are difficult to cure.
To find out if a certain bacterium is already resistant to an antibiotic active substance, we can perform an antibiotic sensitivity test or antimicrobial-susceptibility testing (AST). From these tests we can make a reference in choosing antibiotics that are still sensitive for treatment. Humans can become infected with resistant bacteria directly from contact with sick chickens, indirectly contaminated from the environment, or eating poorly cooked chicken meat.
Another thing to note is that medications such as antibiotics have a downtime (withdrawal time). The downtime of the drug is the time recommended by the drug manufacturer to stop the administration of the drug. The drug has been completely metabolized by the body or has been excreted (clearance) from the body as waste substances (feces/urine). So expect products of animal origin, for example, chicken meat does not contain the remains of antibiotic active substances in it or better known as antibiotic residues.
The maximum residual limit (BMR) of antibiotics in food products of animal origin is regulated in SNI 01-6366-2000. BMR of each antibiotic is different, for example, the BMR of tetracycline group in livestock products is 0.1 ppm (Etikaningrum, 2017).
The presence of residues in this meat will have an impact on humans if consumed. Eating meat that contains antibiotic residues is the same as taking certain antibiotics at low doses (sub-therapy). Eventually it will increase the potential for the emergence of the ability of bacterial resistance to these antibiotics in humans.
To minimize the potential for antibiotic resistance in humans due to antibiotic residues in chicken meat products, one of the efforts that we can do is to use herbal products that have the activity of killing or inhibiting the growth of bacteria in the chicken body such as Fithera. Fithera is a liquid natural medicine containing extracts Origanum vulgare and Andrographis paniculata. Fithera helps speed up the healing of diseases caused by bacterial infections in chickens.
In addition, we can use the strategy rolling antibiotics. Principles rolling antibiotics are done by changing the class of antibiotics used at intervals of 3-4 times the treatment period.
