Written by Stefan Alius, Global Lead Poultry
The global poultry market continues to grow significantly, driven by its economic and competitive ability to produce high-quality, edible protein for humans. However, as the sector expands, so do the associated challenges. One of the most pressing is the poultry industry’s impact on human health, particularly through antibiotic use and the spread of zoonotic diseases.
Antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance
Antibiotics, or antimicrobial agents, are medicines that fight bacterial infections in humans and animals. They work by killing bacteria or by inhibiting their growth and reproduction.
In the livestock industry, two types of antibiotic strategies are commonly applied:
– Metaphylaxis: When an animal shows signs of disease, the entire flock is treated.
– Prophylaxis: Antibiotics are administered preventively, even in the absence of clinical signs.
Another approach is the use of antibiotic growth promoters or AGPs, antibiotics added at sub-therapeutic levels to feed, aimed at improving animal performance by suppressing inflammation and influencing metabolic processes in the cells. While AGPs can boost performance, their prolonged and broad use can increase the risk of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This is a serious concern, as livestock and humans often share common pathogens, such as Salmonella and E.coli.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2019, 1,27 million global deaths in humans were directly related to AMR, with 4,95 million deaths indirectly related to it. This is significant.
From an economic standpoint, the World Bank estimates 1 trillion USD extra on human healthcare costs and a loss of up to 3.4 trillion USD in GDP, all related to growing AMR challenges.
Reactions & Measures
These worrying trends have triggered global action. The European Union, for example, banned AGPs in 2006 and later prohibited prophylactic use of antibiotics in livestock.
Other regions are following, with more countries banning AGPs or implementing specific legislations on antibiotic medication for livestock. As a result, the World Organization of Animal Health (WOAH) reported a positive downward trend in antibiotic use in livestock (Figure 2).
Beyond legal frameworks, the operational poultry farming can also contribute significantly to the reduction of antibiotics.
The FAO determined three main measures to prevent infectious diseases (Figure 3):
- Robust biosecurity
- Sound animal management
- Appropriate vaccination strategies
A related but different challenge: Zoonoses
Zoonoses are diseases transmitted from animals to humans. They can spread via contaminated food and water, exposure to infected animals (livestock), animal attacks including insect stitches, and more. The causative pathogens are viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi, or prions (e.g., BSE). Over 110 zoonotic diseases are recognized by the WHO.
According to the WHO, there are over one billion occurrences of zoonoses, leading to several millions of deaths annually.
The EU, zoonoses continue to pose a significant public health threat (Table 1).
In the US, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that Salmonellosis specifically causes 1.35 million infections, 23,000 hospitalizations, and 450 deaths on an annual average.
A major risk to human health: Salmonella & Salmonellosis
Salmonella spp. are rod-shaped, gram-negative; rodshaped, non-spore-forming bacteria with flagella. There are six sub-species and over 2650 known serotypes. Salmonella is ubiquitous in the environment and plays an important role in many ecosystems as a potent substrate converter. However, its colonization in humans is clearly undesirable. Poultry products have been identified as the leading cause of foodborne illnesses like Salmonellosis between 2009- 2018 (Figure 4). Interestingly, while Salomella is commonly in poultry, only two serovars, S.gallinarum and S.pullorum, are pathogenic to poultry. All other serovares can cause zoonotic diseases in humans without showing any clinical signs in poultry.
Two birds with one stone?
Fortunately,or unfortunately, the same strategies used to fight antimicrobial resistance can also reduce Salmonella risk. Fortunately, this means no extra measures are required on farms. Effective management, biosecurtiy and vaccination remain the tree core pillars. Unfortunately, these measures must be applied with strict discipline. Half-hearted efforst simply won’t work.
To summerize
Poultry production has a huge – and still growing – impact on human health. By 2030, it will supply more than 50% of edible animal protein supply to humans.However, this comes with significant responsibilities. The industry must face challenges such as brings a number of challenges: antimicrobial resistance caused by heavy use of theraputic antibiotics and AGPs, and zoonotic diseases such as Salmonellosis.Stricter regulations from governments, retailers, and international trade partners are increasing pressure on the industry to adopt responsible practices. Exporting companies, in particular, must comply with destination country standards, contributing to a more standardized global approach.
In practice, success still relies on the basics: skilled stockmanship, strong biosecurity, and preventive measures such as vaccinations are the way to go. To support producers in this approach, Royal Agrifirm Group offers proven solutions like S-prove and Aromabiotic—designed to strengthen gut health, reduce reliance on antibiotics, and improve overall performance.