Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Bulletin of the World Health Organization logoLink to Bulletin of the World Health Organization
. 1963;29(3):387–400.

The non-medical use of antibiotics and the risk of causing microbial drug-resistance*

A Manten
PMCID: PMC2554973  PMID: 14058230

Abstract

One of the hazards involved in the use of antibiotics in animal feeds is that it may lead to the development of bacterial drug-resistance. An analysis of the phenomenon shows that this possibility largely depends on the size of the bacterial populations involved and on the possibility of selective multiplication of the resistant mutants that may be present. Additional factors involved in the development of resistance are the type of drug applied and the time during which the bacteria are in contact with it.

Animal experiments and general practical experience show that resistance, especially in E. coli, Salm. typhimurium and Staph. aureus, may considerably increase as higher doses are added to the feed. Therefore, the lowest effective level for growth promotion (5-20 p.p.m. of penicillin or tetracycline) is to be preferred over higher levels.

As to the practice of food preservation by means of antibiotics, a dangerous situation may arise if two factors combine: emergence of bacterial resistance in Salmonella and perhaps other pathogenic bacteria in the animal as a result of the addition of a certain antibiotic to feeds, and subsequent use of the same substance for preservation of the meat.

Full text

PDF
387

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bryson V., Szybalski W. Microbial Selection. Science. 1952 Jul 18;116(3003):45–51. doi: 10.1126/science.116.3003.45. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. CAVALLI L. L. Genetic analysis of drug-resistance. Bull World Health Organ. 1952;6(1-2):185–206. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. CAVALLI L. L., MACCACARO G. A. Chloromycetin resistance in E. coli, a case of quantitative inheritance in bacteria. Nature. 1950 Dec 9;166(4232):991–992. doi: 10.1038/166991a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Demerec M. Origin of Bacterial Resistance to Antibiotics. J Bacteriol. 1948 Jul;56(1):63–74. doi: 10.1128/jb.56.1.63-74.1948. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Demerec M. Production of Staphylococcus Strains Resistant to Various Concentrations of Penicillin. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1945 Jan;31(1):16–24. doi: 10.1073/pnas.31.1.16. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. EDWARDS S. J. Effect of streptomycin on the growth rate and intestinal flora (Escherichia coli) of piglets. J Comp Pathol. 1961 Jul;71:243–252. doi: 10.1016/s0368-1742(61)80030-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. ELLIOTT S. D., BARNES E. M. Changes in serological type and antibiotic resistance of Lancefield group D streptococci in chickens receiving dietary chlortetracycline. J Gen Microbiol. 1959 Apr;20(2):426–433. doi: 10.1099/00221287-20-2-426. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. GOLDBERG H. S., GOODMAN R. N., LANNING B. Low-level, long-term feeding of chlortetracycline and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant enteric bacteria. Antibiot Annu. 1958;6:930–934. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. GOLDBERG H. S., READ B. E., GOODMAN R. N. Studies on the emergence of streptomycin-resistant bacteria as a result of low-level, long-term feeding of streptomycin. Antibiot Annu. 1957;5:144–148. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. HOBBS B. C., REEVES J. C., GARSIDE J. S., GORDON R. F., BARNES E. M., SHRIMPTON D. H., ANDERSON E. S. Antibiotic treatment of poultry in relation to Salmonella typhi-murium. Mon Bull Minist Health Public Health Lab Serv. 1960 Oct;19:178–192. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. HOTCHKISS R. D. Transfer of penicillin resistance in pneumococci by the desoxyribonucleate derived from resistant cultures. Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol. 1951;16:457–461. doi: 10.1101/sqb.1951.016.01.032. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. HUEY C. R., EDWARDS P. R. Resistance of Salmonella typhimurium to tetracyclines. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1958 Mar;97(3):550–551. doi: 10.3181/00379727-97-23801. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Lederberg J. Gene Recombination and Linked Segregations in Escherichia Coli. Genetics. 1947 Sep;32(5):505–525. doi: 10.1093/genetics/32.5.505. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Luria S. E., Delbrück M. Mutations of Bacteria from Virus Sensitivity to Virus Resistance. Genetics. 1943 Nov;28(6):491–511. doi: 10.1093/genetics/28.6.491. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. MANTEN A., KAMPELMACHER E. H., GUINEE P. A. Frequency of resistance to chloramphenicol and tetracyclines among 12014 Salmonella strains isolated in 1958 and 1959. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek. 1961;27:103–109. doi: 10.1007/BF02538429. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. MANTEN A., WISSE M. J. Antagonism between antibacterial drugs. Nature. 1961 Nov 18;192:671–672. doi: 10.1038/192671a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. MITCHISON D. A. Microbial genetics and chemotherapy. Br Med Bull. 1962 Jan;18:74–80. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.bmb.a069939. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. McDERMOTT W. Microbial persistence. Yale J Biol Med. 1958 Feb;30(4):257–291. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. NEWCOMBE H. B., NYHOLM M. H. The inheritance of streptomycin resistance and dependence in crosses of Escherichia coli. Genetics. 1950 Nov;35(6):603–611. doi: 10.1093/genetics/35.6.603b. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. RAMSEY C. H., EDWARDS P. R. Resistance of Salmonellae isolated in 1959 and 1960 to tetracyclines and chloramphenicol. Appl Microbiol. 1961 Sep;9:389–391. doi: 10.1128/am.9.5.389-391.1961. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. SMITH H. W., CRABB W. E. The effect of diets containing tetracyclines and penicillin on the Staphylococcus aureus flora of the nose and skin of pigs and chickens and their human attendants. J Pathol Bacteriol. 1960 Apr;79:243–249. doi: 10.1002/path.1700790204. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. SMITH H. W. The effect of the continuous administration of diets containing tetracyclines and penicillin on the number of drug-resistant and drug-sensitive Clostridium welchii in the faeces of pigs and chickens. J Pathol Bacteriol. 1959 Jan;77(1):79–93. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. STOKSTAD E. L. R., JUKES T. H. The multiple nature of the animal protein factor. J Biol Chem. 1949 Sep;180(2):647–654. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. THORNLEY M. J., YUDKIN J. The origin of bacterial resistance to proflavine. I. Training and reversion in Escherichia coll. J Gen Microbiol. 1959 Apr;20(2):355–364. doi: 10.1099/00221287-20-2-355. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. WATANABE T., FUKASAWA T. Episome-mediated transfer of drug resistance in Enterobacteriaceae. I. Transfer of resistance factors by conjugation. J Bacteriol. 1961 May;81:669–678. doi: 10.1128/jb.81.5.669-678.1961. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. ZINDER N. D., LEDERBERG J. Genetic exchange in Salmonella. J Bacteriol. 1952 Nov;64(5):679–699. doi: 10.1128/jb.64.5.679-699.1952. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Bulletin of the World Health Organization are provided here courtesy of World Health Organization

RESOURCES