Love butter chicken? Beware of antibiotics used in Indian farms, says study

From an antibiotic resistance standpoint, it may be safer to eat eggs than to eat poultry

Antibiotics are being routinely administered to chickens on Indian poultry farms in small doses to promote growth and keep disease at bay, almost as a replacement for nutrition and sanitation, says a new study led by Ramanan Laxminarayan, director of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy, Washington DC and New Delhi The study has been published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

Twelve of the 18 farms studied, or 67%, reported the use of antimicrobials as growth boosters. Tetracyclines and fluoroquinolones, antibiotics commonly used to treat cholera, malaria, respiratory and urinary tract infections in