Resistant Bacteria Found in Poultry Meat

Resistant Bacteria Found in Poultry Meat

GERMANY - Of 20 chicken tests done at random

 in supermarkets and discount stores in Berlin,

 Hamberg, Cologne, Nuremberg and Stuttgart, 


10 were positive with ESBL (Extended Spectrum

 Beta-lactamase) and methicillin-resistant 


bacteria MRSA (Methicillin resistant 

Staphylococcus aureus)

.

"This is the result of persistent disturbing abuse of

 antibiotics," said the president of the environmental

 organisation, BUND, Hubert Weiger, who criticised the use of antibiotics in animal production.

The organisation noted that the animals are subjected to prolonged treatment with a combination of different medicines.

According to Mr Weiger, in intensive poultry rearing

 between 22 and 24 chickens are maintained per

 square metre. And having an increasing number o

f animals in too small a space is only possible using

 large amounts of antibiotics.

Over-use of antibiotics such as cephalosporins, food
 additives used in livestock and farm animals to
 promote growth, accelerate the development of
 resistance to antibiotics.
The proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria poses

 a danger to people with weak immune systems, such

 as the elderly, sick, children and pregnant women. In extreme cases, an infection can even lead to death.

It is estimated that at European level there are about 25,000 infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria a year.