Reduction of antimicrobial use and resistance needs sectoral-collaborations with a One Health approach: perspectives from Asia

Excerpt

The misuse of antimicrobials in human health and animal production, and concomitant increase in antimicrobial resistance (AMR), is recognized as an emergent global problem, affecting human and animal health (Lancet 2015) and imposing social and economic burdens on society. It is estimated that globally, by 2050, 10 million people will die annually due to AMR. In Asia, the use of antimicrobials and resultant AMR is not well characterized, although some studies have attempted to estimate the amount of antibiotic use. Asia’s population represents a large portion of this global cohort, with intensive agriculture production systems, making it a large and significant consumer and user of antimicrobials. In Vietnam, it is estimated that over 2000 tonnes of antimicrobials are used for feed production for chicken and pig annually (Van Cuong et al. 2016). Three countries (Vietnam, Thailand and China) use one-third of antimicrobials worldwide in livestock production (Van Boeckel et al. 2015). It may therefore not be less surprising that colistin-resistant Escherichia coli were first isolated from food and described in China and a second report is from Vietnam (Malhotra-Kumar et al. 2016). …