Antibiotic resistance is when bacteria change to resist antibiotics that used to effectively treat them. This makes certain bacterial infections difficult to treat.

Antibiotic resistance is a type of antimicrobial resistance. Fungi, parasites and viruses can also develop drug resistance.

The body of the birds doesn’t develop antibiotic resistance — bacteria do. When antibiotic resistance happens, fewer antibiotics are effective against a particular bacterium. Other antibiotics often help, but it’s important to have as many treatment options available as possible. It’s also important to begin effective treatment as quickly as possible for serious infection on your farm. If it takes longer for a vet to find a medication that will treat an antibiotic-resistant infection, the outcome can be more serious.

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Antibiotic resistance is dangerous because it reduces treatment options for birds who are sick. It may also delay effective treatment. As a result, farmers may face:

Increased risk of severe, extended illness or death of birds
Severe medication side effects.
Increased medical costs.
Spread of disease on farm(farmers are expected to have sick bay on the farm, so sick birds can be separated from the healthy one)
What causes antibiotic resistance?
Bacteria naturally become resistant to medications over time. But certain factors can speed up the process, including:

1.Overuse of antibiotics: Giving your birds antibiotics when they don’t need them contributes to antibiotic resistance. Farmers should be careful when using antibiotics for prevention measures.

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2. Misuse of antibiotics: Bacteria take advantage of any opportunity to multiply. If you refuse to use appropriate dosage of antibiotic for your sick birds, or you stop treatment too soon, bacteria start reproducing. As they multiply, they can change (mutate). Mutated bacteria become increasingly resistant to medicine. Antibiotics can kill the bacteria that haven’t mutated to resist treatment, but they leave the resistant bacteria behind.

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Spontaneous resistance. Sometimes, the genetic makeup (DNA) of a bacterium changes or mutates on its own. The antibiotic doesn’t recognize this newly changed bacterium and can’t target it the way it should. Or , the change helps the bacteria fight off the medicine’s effects.

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When birds get sick, one of the first things you might wonder is what kind of medicine can you give to make them feel better. Thankfully, antibiotics are still powerful tools in the fight against many bacterial infections. They’ll improve their symptoms and lower the risk of serious complications. But as time goes on, more bacteria are developing resistance to medicines that have worked for years. This situation can be scary, but learning more about antibiotic resistance can help you on how to use antibiotics properly. Talk to your vet  about ways to make your birds stay healthy.

 

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