Pollution from livestock farming antibiotics an emerging environmental and human health concern: A review

Abstract

Various studies show that antibiotics have long been used in medicine, particularly in veterinary medicine, as additives in animal food either for the stimulation of their growth or for the therapy of certain infectious diseases. However, others have proven that these antibiotics intensive use and their massive quantity in solid and liquid farming waste have caused many environmental risks. This review paper presents the state of the art, which is specifically related to the impact of the extensive use of some veterinary antibiotics in the breeding of some animals, notably cows, pigs, and chickens. Relevant to the raised issue is the discussion of the pollution of animal manures and agricultural soil by antibiotic residues, which probably result in the multiplication of some antibiotic resistant pathogens. This type of resistance is embodied in the roughly immediate cropping up of infectious diseases in animals, plants, and humans. This review article as an examination of the literature is part of not only fighting against antibiotic resistance but also suggesting some efficient solutions. Among these solutions, physicochemical or biological methods for antibiotics removal were extensively studied. The use of ligninolytic microorganisms and their enzymes were discussed. In this vein, previous studies have found that fungi were active and influential in the antibiotic biodegradation thanks to their enzymes, particularly laccases and peroxidases. Accordingly, this paper sets out to discuss the use of some fungi and their laccases in the biodegradation of some veterinary antibiotics from animal husbandry. This antibiotic biodegradation is a tool to minimize the emergence of antibiotic resistance that is the main purpose in this review.