Farmers use antibiotics in crops along Yamuna bank
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Farmers use antibiotics in crops along Yamuna bank

The World Health Organization has classified it as a critically important antibiotic for humans.

Farmers use antibiotics in crops along Yamuna bank

New Delhi: Farmers along the banks of Yamuna River in Delhi, Hisar in Haryana and Fazilka in Punjab are found to be using antibiotics, that are important for humans, in their crops, increasing resistance in humans.

A study released by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), on the occasion of the World Antibiotic Awareness Week (November 18-24), suggested that antibiotics are rampantly being used in crops.

Streptocycline, a drug used for previously treating tuberculosis (TB) patients, were found in the crops, in a ratio of  90:10 combination of streptomycin and tetracycline, routinely and indiscriminately in high doses, including on those crops which are not approved.

“We found that farmers are unaware of the recommended use and spray antibiotics frequently like pesticides as a regular practice”, said Amit Khurana, programme director, Food and Toxins program, CSE.

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Notably, previously-treated tuberculosis (TB) patients make up over 10 per cent of the total estimated TB incidence in India. It is also used in multidrug-resistant TB patients and in certain cases of TB meningitis (brain TB).

Resistance to streptomycin is quite high and its large scale non-human use could add to the problem. The World Health Organization has classified it as a critically important antibiotic for humans.

Antibiotics in India are becoming ineffective as bacteria-causing infections are getting resistant to the antibiotics that are being used to kill them. Bacterial infections, which are quite common in India, are becoming difficult to treat or completely untreatable, leading to a huge health and economic burden.

The over-use, misuse in humans is making them resistance from the drugs which otherwise take chunks of money and years to be produced.

The minimum solution to control this resistance from drugs is to stop the unsafe disposal of unused and expired drugs which go in the soil if not treated the right way.