Chicken that we eat in India is mainly raised in poultry farms. But, do you know that these chickens are not grown naturally. According to a study conducted by non-profit news organizations chickens are given strong antibiotics.
How chickens given antibiotics work in diseases-
These chickens are fed with colistin, which doctors call a “last hope” because it is mainly used to treat patients who are critically ill with infectious diseases resistant to most drugs.
Image source: 123RF.com
These antibiotics help chickens to remain disease-free and gain weight faster. But the WHO, which considers these medicine as critically important for human medicine restricts their use in animals eaten by humans. The organization bans them as growth promoters.
The use of colistin in poultry farming increases the chances that bacteria would develop resistance to the drug. This will make the drug useless while treating patients.
The news bureau said that tonnes of colistin antibiotic are being imported to India, Vietnam, South Korea every year, for veterinary use. In India, a number of pharmaceutical companies advertise products containing colistine as a growth promoter. The country imports 150 tonnes of the drug every year.
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Why is Colistin in chicken dangerous?
Colistin-resistant bacteria are mainly spread through these chicken farms, contaminated meat, air, spread to farm workers and through faeces. Flies will spread it large distances.
According to study drug resistant bacteria kills more than 7 million people worldwide. This toll is projected to increase by 2050 if no action is taken. We pledge our government to ban these use of drugs in poultry farms before it gets too late.
