Syllabus: GS2/ Health
Context
- In light of growing concerns over antibiotic overuse in animal husbandry, India is advancing insect-based feed innovations through ICAR-led partnerships to create AMR-resilient food systems.
What is Antimicrobial Resistance?
- Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.
- Nearly 700,000 people die of AMR every year. The toll can rise to as many as 10 million by 2050 and eat up 3.8 per cent of annual global gross domestic product (GDP).
How does traditional Livestock feed contribute to AMR?
- Over 50% of all antibiotics globally are consumed in animal agriculture. These are used not just to treat diseases but also to promote growth.
- However, the constant exposure of gut bacteria in animals to antibiotics fosters the development of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), which can spread to humans through the food chain, water, soil, and direct contact.
Significance of Insect-Based Feed
- Curbing AMR: Insects contain antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) such as defensins and cecropins, which naturally boost immunity in animals and reduce disease incidence, thereby reducing antibiotic use.
- Nutritional Superiority: Insects are high in digestible protein, essential amino acids, fats, and micronutrients (e.g., zinc, iron, calcium).
- They serve as natural components of the diets of many fish and poultry species.
- Economic Viability: Studies suggest insect-based feed has a better benefit-to-cost ratio than conventional fishmeal or soybean meal.
- Local production of insect-based feed reduces dependency on expensive imports of protein-rich feed ingredients.
Efforts Against Antimicrobial Resistance
- Global Efforts:
- Global Action Plan (GAP) on Antimicrobial Resistance: Nations adopted the framework set out in the Global Action Plan (GAP) 2015 to address AMR through a coordinated and “One Health” approach.
- World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW): It is a global campaign that aims to raise awareness of antimicrobial resistance worldwide.
- Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS): WHO launched it in 2015 to continue filling knowledge gaps and to inform strategies at all levels.
- Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP): A joint initiative of WHO and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), GARDP encourages research and development through public-private partnerships.
- Indian Initiatives:
- National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (NAP-AMR): It has a focus on the One Health approach & was launched with the aim of involving various stakeholders ministries/departments.
- AMR Surveillance Network: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) established the AMR surveillance and research network (AMRSN) to generate evidence and capture trends and patterns of drug resistant infections in the country.
- India’s Red Line campaign: Which demands that prescription-only antibiotics be marked with a red line, to discourage the over-the-counter sale of antibiotics– is a step forward.
- National Antibiotic Consumption Network (NAC-NET): The network sites compile data on antibiotic consumption in their respective health facilities and send it to National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
- The Kerala Drug Control Department launched Operation AMRITH (Antimicrobial Resistance Intervention for Total Health) to prevent the overuse of antibiotics in the state.
Concluding Remarks
- The AMR crisis is no longer a future threat—it is a present and growing danger that challenges the very foundation of modern medicine, agriculture, and global development.
- Transitioning to insect-based livestock feed offers a transformative opportunity to not only curb the misuse of antibiotics but also reduce the environmental footprint of food systems.
Further Reading: Combating Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in India
Source: TH
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