THE adoption of probiotics in the livestock industries is a path forward in helping to prevent resistance developing in important antibiotics used in human medicine.
Livestock nutritionist Peter Doyle said while many antibiotics used in the animal feeding systems were not used in human health there was considerable pressure to reduce the use of all antibiotics across the livestock industries.
Probiotics essentially work to improve animal health by boosting gut health and the immune system. Antibiotics work by killing bacteria, which may have developed because of poor health.
Dr Doyle heads the Nabiac NSW headquartered company Nutriment Health, which supplies advice and feed additives to the stockfeed industry, including large numbers of feedlots.
He was speaking at Riverina Stockfeed’s recent two day Beef4U event held in Miles and at MDH’s Wallumba near Condamine.
“It’s not only a public health hazard, it is also a serious image problem for all of the animal industries,” Dr Doyle said.
“Beef is not exempt. The concern from the World Health Organisation is that it is contributing to antibiotic resistance.”
Part of the problem was that major pharmaceutical companies were investing no or only limited funding into the development of new single-course antibiotics. Instead funding was being directed to whole-of-life medications for conditions such as high blood pressure, he said.
“For that reason there is absolutely nothing being developed for animal feed antibiotics,” he said.
Dr Doyle said Meat and Livestock Australia and the Australian Lot Feeders Association have acknowledged the problem in its soon to be released Antimicrobial Stewardship Framework paper.
