• The study indicated that 83 per cent of the people surveyed across 15 countries including Kenya are concerned that the next pandemic could originate from farm animals.
There is concern that the next pandemic could originate from farm animals, a study by the World Animal Protection has revealed.
The study indicated that 83 per cent of the people surveyed across 15 countries including Kenya are concerned that the next pandemic could originate from farm animals.
The study was released by World Animal Protection last week to help understand people’s knowledge and attitudes towards antibiotic use, antimicrobial resistance and pandemic risk from farm animals.
Victor Yamo, the farming campaigns manager at World Animal Protection said food is the essence of life and preserving access to safe and nutritious food will continue to be an essential part of the response to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
“In a moment like this when we are planning the Covid-19 recovery journey, it is more important than ever to recognise the need to be careful on what we consume especially animal products from intensive farming systems,” he said.
Yamo pointed out that we cannot ignore the contribution that the overuse of antibiotics in farm animals is having on the rise in antibiotic resistance.
“It is a ticking time-bomb that could make the current public health crisis even worse if antibiotics are ineffective in treating secondary infections,” he noted.
The study also showed that 88 per cent of the respondents were concerned about the possibility of the antibiotic-resistant organism (superbugs) coming from farm animals due to the overuse of antibiotics.
According to the World Health Organization, antimicrobial resistance occurs when microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change in ways that render the medications used to cure the infections they cause ineffective.
“When the microorganisms become resistant to most antimicrobials, they are often referred to as “superbugs”. This is a major concern because a resistant infection may kill, can spread to others, and imposes huge costs to individuals and society,” says WHO.
In 2016, the UN General Assembly recognised the use of antibiotics in the livestock sector as one of the primary causes of antimicrobial resistance.
Yamo said almost three-quarters of the world’s antibiotics are used in intensively farmed animals. The antibiotics are used in raising of fast-growing meat chickens and routine mutilation of piglets.
“These animals are all housed in stressful, cramped conditions that provide the perfect breeding ground for the spread of infection and emergence of disease,” said Yamo.
He said African governments need to enact minimum farm animal welfare laws and standards.
“There is also a need to monitor and report on antibiotic use in farm animals and restrict the use of antibiotics in farm animals unless for treatment of sick animals. Retailers and other food outlets should be setting the bar far higher to ensure the animals in their supply chains are treated well, and antibiotics are used responsibly in farming,” he said.