Industrial Chicken Farming Drives 100-Fold Jump in Campylobacter Spread and Resistance
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jul 27
Industrial Chicken Farming Drives 100-Fold Jump in Campylobacter Spread and Resistance
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 27
Summary
A 100-fold rise in campylobacter strain transfers between chickens and wild birds since 1900 points to industrial poultry farming as a major driver of the pathogen’s evolution, according to a new study.
Nearly 2,800 bacterial genomes from 30 countries showed intensified farming created dense mixing grounds where strains hybridise, spread and pick up genetic changes tied to adaptation in chickens, including antimicrobial resistance.
About 60% to 80% of human campylobacter infections are linked to raw chicken, and the bacteria already cause more than three times as many UK gastroenteritis cases as all other monitored foodborne bacteria combined.
Global chicken numbers have risen seven-fold since the 1960s to about 27 billion birds—roughly 70% of Earth’s bird biomass—raising concerns that cheap large-scale poultry production is amplifying hard-to-treat disease risks.