3.1.2 Human health and associated socio-economic impact

AMU in food-producing animals contributes to AMR in human health by the types of exposure discussed in Section 2.2, as shown in Figure 13. Development of resistant infections in humans due to use of antimicrobials in animals is thought to be a small fraction of the total, but is not easy to quantify.

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Figure 13 The influence of AMU in animals on AMR in human health; note that ‘Environmental’ also includes manure (adapted from Innes et al., 2020).
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A flow chart running from top to bottom. The top box is labelled ‘AMU in animals’. This has an arrow to ‘AMR in animals’. There are then three arrows labelled ‘Occupational’, ‘Foodborne’ and ‘Environmental’ leading to a box labelled ‘AMR in humans’. Inside this box is a smaller box labelled ‘Fraction attributable to animals’.

Figure 13 The influence of AMU in animals on AMR in human health; note that ‘Environmental’ also includes manure (adapted from Innes et ...

AMU and resistant bacteria in animals contribute to resistant infections in humans through the exposure pathways, as explored in Section 2.2. As explained in Section 2.3, resistant bacteria and ARGs can also be transmitted from humans to animals and animal products. Increased AMR in human pathogens leads to difficulty treating bacterial infections and an increase in human morbidity and mortality. Resistant pathogens are estimated to cause 700,000 human deaths per year globally and deaths are expected to reach 10 million per year by 2050 if no action is taken (O’Neill, 2016). Resistant infections in humans have a socio-economic impact due to, among others, the cost of longer hospitalisations. There are also indirect societal costs relating to long-term disabilities or reduced earning ability with associated impact on families.

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Figure 14 How AMR in animal health affects human health and the socio-economic impact.
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A flow chart showing that AMR in animal health influences AMR in human health, leading to increased morbidity and mortality in humans and then to a socio-economic impact.

Figure 14 How AMR in animal health affects human health and the socio-economic impact.

3.1.1 Animal health and food production

3.1.3 Environmental impact of AMR