Antimicrobial resistance in animals and in human being. There is reason for concern?

Abstract

Resistance to antimicrobial agents has become one of the main concerns for human health, but has also become a problem in veterinary medicine. Antimicrobial agents are used worldwide in veterinary practice for therapy and prophylaxis of infectious diseases in food, horses and companion animals and for growth promotion in food animals. Many studies have shown that this kind of antimicrobial use in animals contributed to the selection of antimicrobial resistance, because many classes of antibiotics used in animals are used to treat serious diseases in humans, causing therapeutic failure, because of transference of resistant bacteria through food chain. Some authors question if this hazard to public health originated only from the use of antibiotic in animals, since these substances are also used in agriculture and are naturally found in the environment. So the antimicrobial resistance may develop even without the use of antibiotics. Therefore, the present article reviews the role of animals in the transmission of resistant bacteria to humans and vice versa, and questions about the existence of others sources of resistance.