Economics
Indian Poultry Farms Are Breeding Drug-Resistant Superbugs
- Largest such study finds rampant antibiotic use in chickens
- Almost 90% of broiler farms harbor multi-drug-resistant germs
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Indian poultry farms aren’t just rearing chickens — they’re also breeding germs capable of thwarting all but the most potent antibiotics, researchers found.
Random tests on 18 poultry farms raising about 50,000 birds each in India’s northwestern state of Punjab found that two-thirds of fowl harbored bacteria that produce special enzymes, known as extended-spectrum beta-lactamase, or ESBL, that destroy most penicillin- and cephalosporin-based antibiotics. Of tested birds destined for meat consumption, 87 percent had the super germs, a study published Thursday in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives showed. That compared with 42 percent of egg-laying hens.