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Review
. 2014 Jun 12:5:288.
doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2014.00288. eCollection 2014.

Benefits and risks of antimicrobial use in food-producing animals

Haihong Hao  1 , Guyue Cheng  1 , Zahid Iqbal  1 , Xiaohui Ai  2 , Hafiz I Hussain  1 , Lingli Huang  1 , Menghong Dai  1 , Yulian Wang  3 , Zhenli Liu  3 , Zonghui Yuan  4
Affiliations
Review

Benefits and risks of antimicrobial use in food-producing animals

Haihong Hao et al. Front Microbiol. .

Abstract

Benefits and risks of antimicrobial drugs, used in food-producing animals, continue to be complex and controversial issues. This review comprehensively presents the benefits of antimicrobials drugs regarding control of animal diseases, protection of public health, enhancement of animal production, improvement of environment, and effects of the drugs on biogas production and public health associated with antimicrobial resistance. The positive and negative impacts, due to ban issue of antimicrobial agents used in food-producing animals, are also included in the discussion. As a double-edged sword, use of these drugs in food-animals persists as a great challenge.

Keywords: animal food production; antimicrobial drug; benefit; public health; risk.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Estimated total consumption (kg) of prescribed antimicrobial agents for production animals in Denmark (data obtained from DANMAP, 2010).
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Production of food animals in Denmark from 1998 to 2010 (data obtained from DANMAP, 2010).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

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