Can animals develop a resistance to antibiotics?
Yes. Resistance to antibiotics is a natural biological defense that bacteria use to survive efforts to eliminate them. It is important to realize that antimicrobial resistance traits are widely distributed among bacteria throughout the environment and within the human population; and the issues surrounding antibiotic resistance extend well beyond livestock production. Mobile DNA elements that can be transferred from one bacterium to another are largely responsible for antibiotic resistance in bacteria; although other mechanisms of developing antibiotic resistance exist. The transfer of DNA that codes for antibiotic resistance between bacteria can occur in the human intestinal tract as well as outside the human body. Is research available regarding antibiotic resistance? Yes. The World Health Organization, and a U.S. coalition of the National Institutes of Health, Food and Drug Administration, United States Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, and Centers for Dise
