JAKARTA - Industrial chicken farming drives the spread of the Campylobacter bacterium more than 100 times, according to a study by the University of Oxford. The bacteria that cause diarrhea get more and more opportunities to spread as the world's chicken population jumps to around 31 billion.
Euronews, quoted Wednesday, July 29, reported that the global number of chickens has increased sevenfold since the 1960s. This growth has transformed poultry farming into one of the largest animal habitats in the world.
The density of chickens in intensive farming systems gives bacteria more opportunities to enter, spread, and settle among flocks of poultry. This condition can also increase the risk of disease from animals to humans through the food chain.
The findings come from research by the Ineos Oxford Institute for Antimicrobial Research. Scientists analyzed around 2,800 genomes, the entire genetic material of bacteria, from chickens and wild birds in 30 countries between 1979 and 2024.
The results of the study showed that bacteria that were previously found in wild birds now have a much greater chance of entering chicken farms. After that, the bacteria can spread and form a settled population.
Sam Sheppard, senior author of the study, said industrial farming has created one of the largest animal habitats on the planet.
"Our findings provide new evidence that human-driven environmental changes can increase the spread of infectious diseases," Sheppard said.
Birds are a natural habitat for various pathogens, namely microorganisms that can cause disease. Major changes in the livestock system can increase the risk of zoonosis, which is a disease that is transmitted from animals to humans.
Campylobacter is of concern because it is among the top four causes of diarrheal disease in the world, according to the World Health Organization or WHO.
The infection is generally mild. However, this disease can be fatal in young children, the elderly, and people with weak immune systems.
The most common symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, headache, nausea, and vomiting. Complaints usually last for three to six days.
Poultry are the main source of infection in humans. The study estimates that 60 to 80 percent of cases are related to strains or groups of Campylobacter bacteria that come from chickens.
The risk also touches on the effectiveness of the drug. When adapting to the farm environment, bacteria can acquire properties that help them survive in difficult conditions.
Some of these properties are related to antimicrobial resistance. In bacteria, this condition occurs when drugs are no longer effective in killing or inhibiting their growth.
"When Campylobacter strains adapt to life in poultry, the bacteria can acquire traits that help them survive, including those associated with antimicrobial resistance," said Oakem Kyne, lead author of the study from the University of Oxford.
Antimicrobial resistance is a public health problem because it can reduce the effectiveness of available treatments.
Kyne said understanding the influence of farming practices on bacterial evolution is important to reduce the burden of foodborne diseases.
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