A Review of Antimicrobial Resistance in Poultry Farming within Low-Resource Settings

• Published in: Animals (Basel) Vol. 10; no. 8; p. 1264
• Main Authors: Hedman, Hayden D, Vasco, Karla A, Zhang, Lixin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01-08-2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Agriculture; Animal husbandry; Animal protein; Animals; Antibiotics; Antimicrobial agents; Antimicrobial resistance; Bacteria; Bacterial infections; Chickens; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Disease prevention; DNA; Domestic animals; Drug resistance; Drug resistance in microorganisms; economic development; Eggs; Epidemiology; Evolution; Farming; Food; Food security; Food sources; Global health; Health aspects; Human populations; intensive poultry production; Livestock; Mutation; Observations; Permeability; Plasmids; Poultry; Poultry farming; Poultry production; Public health; Review; RNA polymerase; Wildlife; Bangladesh; United States > US; China; economic development; intensive poultry production; antimicrobial resistance; food security
• ISSN: 2076-2615; 2076-2615
• DOI: 10.3390/ani10081264

The emergence, spread, and persistence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) remain a pressing global health issue. Animal husbandry, in particular poultry, makes up a substantial portion of the global antimicrobial use. Despite the growing body of research evaluating the AMR within industrial farming systems, there is a gap in understanding the emergence of bacterial resistance originating from poultry within resource-limited environments. As countries continue to transition from low- to middle income countries (LMICs), there will be an increased demand for quality sources of animal protein. Further promotion of intensive poultry farming could address issues of food security, but it may also increase risks of AMR exposure to poultry, other domestic animals, wildlife, and human populations. Given that intensively raised poultry can function as animal reservoirs for AMR, surveillance is needed to evaluate the impacts on humans, other animals, and the environment. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of poultry production within low-resource settings in order to inform future small-scale poultry farming development. Future research is needed in order to understand the full extent of the epidemiology and ecology of AMR in poultry within low-resource settings.