Indian poultry farms are breeding superbugs, study finds

Vancouver

INDIAN poultry farms are not just rearing chickens - they are also breeding germs capable of thwarting all but the most potent antibiotics, researchers found.

Random tests on 18 poultry farms raising about 50,000 birds each in India's north-western state of Punjab found that two-thirds of the fowl harboured bacteria that produce special enzymes, known as extended-spectrum beta-lactamase, or ESBL, that destroy most penicillin and cephalosporin-based antibiotics. Of the tested birds destined for meat consumption, 87 per cent had the super germs, a study published last Thursday in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives showed. That compared with 42 per cent of egg-laying hens.