Antibiotic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Antibiotic - Essay Example Bacteria are microorganisms present in many water and soil habitats. These microorganisms are diverse in terms of shape, size and ability to cause infections. While many of bacteria species are non-infective, some strains cause infectious diseases including respiratory diseases such as tuberculosis, cholera, anthrax and many others. Antibiotics are increasingly being used in agriculture to prevent and treat bacterial infections in livestock. Antibiotic agents are also being used in livestock feeds and water to prevent and control bacterial infections. This therefore suggests that different types of antibiotics are being given to healthy livestock. These drugs accumulate in the body, creating antibiotic residue that is eventually eliminated from the system if the drugs are discontinued. However, the increased use of antibiotics in livestock has raised concerns about growing bacterial resistance against these drugs. Current efforts in agriculture focus on producing healthier livestock. This trend has led to increased use of antibiotics to promote growth, fight infections and compensate for unsanitary rearing conditions. However, the accumulation of antibiotics in food animals (antibiotic residual) poses significant risk to humans. For instance, antibiotic overuse in livestock as been associated with increased antibiotic drug resistance in humans. This leads to high levels of the drug in the system of these animals. High concentrations of the drugs kill most of the bacterial strains in these animals, especially the strains that are sensitive to the particular drugs or drug combinations. However, the sustained exposure of bacteria to antibiotics leads to the selection of bacterial strains that have the capacity to withstand high drug levels. These bacterial strains develop resistance to the drug and their relative population exceeds that of the sensitive bacterial species. This is especially