A safe-to-eat chicken dish still a huge challenge

Implementation of colistin ban will face many a hurdle at the ground-level in State

The State is gearing up to implement the Union Health Ministry’s recent ban on the manufacture, sale and distribution of the antibiotic colistin and its formulations for food producing animals, poultry, aqua farming and animal feed supplements, a step which should curb the problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Kerala.

“Colistin is the last line of antibiotic available to us to treat critically ill patients with Carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae in our intensive care units. Yet colistin-resistant isolates of several bacteria are reported from all our medical colleges. The indiscriminate use of antibiotics in the animal husbandry sector, especially the use of colistin for non-therapeutic purposes in poultry farming, is something we had flagged when we launched Kerala Antimicrobial Resistance Strategic Action Plan (KARSAP) last year ,”says K. L. Saradadevi, Head of Microbiology, Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram.

However, the implementation of the ban at ground-level is fraught with challenges.

Import from China

“How does one control the huge colistin imports from China, which may be reaching our poultry farms and backyard farms? The Centre will have to keep a close eye on the imports while the veterinary and drugs control departments in the State will have to ensure that no veterinary medicines or poultry feeds containing colistin are available,” says Robin Paul, Quality Manager, State Laboratory for Livestock, Marine and Agri Products.

The poultry market in Kerala has been growing thanks to poultry integration, a kind of contract farming wherein integrators supply chicks, feed, veterinary aid, medication as well as all inputs to farmers and then buy back the birds after five weeks.

Perils of integration

“Farmers would not have any idea if colistin is being mixed in the feed. Antibiotics are used to make up for poor production factors in farms, including hygiene,” says Dr. Paul.

The State government will have to draw up a joint action plan for implementing the ban, with veterinary and drugs control departments. This includes regular testing of feed samples in the market for colistin and creation of awareness amongst farmers.

State Drugs Controller Ravikumar Menon said the department would intensify checks in medical shops. He said that colistin misuse had not been noticed in over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and that there were hardly one or two colistin-containing veterinary OTC drugs.

Quality feed

“We have been testing several samples of chicken. Though we have found antibiotic residues, we are yet to detect colistin. The current ban will ensure the quality of poultry feed from neighbouring States,” says C. Jalaluddeen, General Manager, Kerala Chicken, a project launched last year to make antibiotic-free safe-to-eat chicken available in the market.

No control over farms

The problem is that the Animal Husbandry department has no control over the farmsteads run by poultry integrators from neighbouring States, who are running a parallel system here, he says.

“Farm licences are issued by local bodies and these farms have no link to our AH department. The department should have better control over all farms in the State so that these can be inspected regularly and use of antibiotics can be regulated,” Dr. Jalaluddeen says.