Persistent Pollutant Discharges and Antibiotic Resistance from Livestock Wastes

1. Persistent Pollutant Discharges and Antibiotic Resistance from Livestock Wastes Evolving Issues from the Industrialization of Livestock Production Sandra Cointreau Global Solid Waste Management Advisor The World Bank November 2008, Singapore ISWA/WMARAS World Congress scointreau@worldbank.org

2. Sequence of this Presentation: • Livestock growth globally. • Relation of disease to livestock wastes. • Antibiotic resistance growth globally. • Relation of antibiotic resistance to livestock wastes. • Discharge of toxic persistent pollutants related to livestock wastes. • Call to action suggestions for global dialogue.

3. Populations: 2000 -> 2030 • High Income Countries ($34,500/cap/yr) • People 1.2 BB -> 1.3 BB* • Cattle, Pigs, Sheep, Goats 4.0 BB -> 5.2 BB** • Poultry 15.0 BB -> 24.8 BB** • Low and Middle Income ($583 and $2,833/cap/yr) • People 4.9 BB -> 7.1 BB* • Cattle, Pigs, Sheep, Goats 3.0 BB -> 4.2 BB** • Poultry 11.0 BB -> 19.2 BB** *UN Dept. of Economics and Social Affairs, World Population to 2300 **Henning Steinfeld, FAO, The Livestock Revolution – A Global Veterinary Mission, 2004

4. Global Ratio of People to Livestock Year 2000 • 1 person to 5.4 livestock Year 2030 • 1 person to 6.4 livestock UN animal and FAO livestock population projections

5. Animal Production Growth • Meat consumption increases as household income increases. • Meat production in developing countries is growing 4 times faster than its growth in high income countries. • By 2020, an estimated 63% of meat and 50% of milk production will be in developing countries. • China is the largest meat, poultry and fish producer in the world. World Bank, Managing the Livestock Revolution, 2005

6. Global Shift to Industrialized (landless) Livestock Production • Industrialized livestock production is growing 6 times faster than pastoral production. • Industrialized poultry production growing by ~ 80% from 2001-2020. • Industrialized pork and ruminate production growing by ~ 50% from 2001-2020. World Bank, Managing the Livestock Revolution, 2005

7. What’s in Excreta from Intensive Livestock Farms? • Organic and nutrient loadings. • Pathogens, including antibiotic-resistant pathogens.*,** • Antimicrobials used for growth promotion and disease prevention.*** • Heavy metals. • Synthetic hormones used for growth promotion and reproduction control. • Natural hormones. • Inappropriate feed additives, such as Melamine.**** *Hutchison, M.L., et al. Levels of Zoonotic Agents in British Livestock Manures. 2004. **Tueber, M. Veterinary Use and Antibiotic Resistance. 2001. ***Includes: doxycycline, bacitracin, avoparcin, tetracyclines, penicillin, virginiamycin, tylosin, erythromycin, lincomycin, flavophospholipol, monensin, carbadox, spiramycin, tiamulin, salinomycin,sulfamethizole, roxarsone (arsenic based). ****October 2008 Chinese newspapers widely reported that melamine (also known as cyanuromide) has been added to most animal and fish livestock feeds in China to falsely boost the appearance of higher feed protein content.

8. Current waste management: • In high-income countries: • Most excreta and bedding is stored in piles, pits, lagoons. • Most excreta and bedding is applied to cropland after storage or added to fish ponds. • Some is pretreated by anaerobic digestion, and some is composted and bagged for marketing as a soil conditioner. • Some animal remains and blood are rendered into animal food. • Specified animal remains (particularly spine and head parts that could contain TSE’s) receive special treatment before being allowed in sanitary landfills.

9. Current waste management: • In developing countries: • Most fifth quarter items, spinal column and heads are sold untreated for human and animal food. Persistent contaminants like arsenic, heavy metals and melamine may concentrate in some of these items. • Unusable items, like the intestinal and rumen pouch content, are discharged to open dumps. • Blood is discharged to drains, surface waters, and blood ponds that seep into groundwater in developing countries. • Only modern private sector facilities that cater to local high-end markets and export operate like high-income countries.

10. Nutrients and Organic Loadings– the regulated discharges: USGS stream water data from sampling over 500 streams was analyzed in 1993. Nutrients from agricultural sources were found higher than those from urban sources. More than half of the levels found could cause algal blooms, which result in decrease of dissolved oxygen, which can result in loss of aquatic life.

11. Emerging Diseases from Animals • 60% of all 1,415 known infectious diseases can infect both animals and humans (i.e., zoonotic). • 70% of all emerging human diseases in the past 15 years are zoonotic. • Contact with excreta and carcasses of infected animals are priority means of transmission for many zoonotic diseases. • Farm-based livestock wastes (e.g., in over 30% of wastes in UK) carry zoonotic pathogens* • Livestock wastes from livestock under stress (during transport and at slaughtering plants) show high shedding of zoonotic pathogens (over 80% of wastes)* Hutchison, ML, et.al., Levels of Zoonotic Agents in British Livestock Manures, 2004

12. Some Diseases that Derived from Animals Zoonotic Diseases – Animal to Human SARS, Avian Influenza, Nipah Virus, Mad Cow, Swine Influenza, Ebola, West Nile Virus, Monkey Pox, Lyme, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Rabies, Tuberculosis, Rift Valley Fever, HIV, Shigellosis, Salmonellosis, Campylobacteriosis, Toxoplasmosis, Brucellosis, Hanta Virus, Leptospirosis, Ringworm, Yellow Fever, Bubonic Plague, Anthrax, Glanders

13. Livestock Losses from Recent Outbreaks • SARS outbreak, over 100 million birds culled. • EU Mad Cow outbreak, 5 million cattle culled. • Dutch swine fever outbreak, 11 million hogs culled. • UK foot-and-mouth outbreak, 6 million cattle culled. • Highly pathogenic avian influenza, over 300 million birds culled. Sources: World Bank, EU, CIDRAP, OIE and USDA data

14. Disease Linkages to Waste • Many animal diseases are spread by pathogens that are excreted or are in blood. • Antibiotics given to livestock pass through the livestock gut into excreta, intact and active. • Antibiotic resistance develops within the livestock gut, and antibiotic resistant pathogens are excreted. • Crowded and stressed livestock excrete more pathogens than pastoral and calm livestock. • Inadequate excreta treatment and management spreads pathogens and antibiotics into the environment for the expansion of antibiotic resistance to micro-organisms and wildlife.

15. Antimicrobials used as Growth Promoters • Antimicrobials, when used in low subtherapeutic doses in feed and water, are called “growth promoters”. They are used by industry to: • Reduce subclinical populations of pathogenic microorganisms in gut mass, lessening metabolic drain. • Prevent irritation to the intestinal lining. • Increase food passage through gut, allowing increased daily gain (4-16%)and feed utilization (2-7%)*. *Hardy, B., Animal Biotechnology, Vol 13, No 1, 2002.

16. Growing Antimicrobial Use in Livestock • WHO estimates half of total amount of antimicrobials produced globally are used in food animals. • In US, 70-80% of all antimicrobials sold are for livestock and 85% of livestock antimicrobial use is for non-therapeutic feed addition. • Arsenic-based antimicrobials are extensively used in poultry and swine factory farming worldwide (over 70% of US poultry fed arsenic-based antimicrobials daily).

17. Antimicrobials in Livestock Feed • Studies show that up to 75% of antibiotics pass through unaltered in feces.* • Routine use in livestock feed increases antibiotic resistant pathogens being excreted by livestock.** • Antibiotic resistant pathogens in excreta become available in the environment to wildlife and grazing livestock, and can contaminate crops. • Many pathogens have long survival after excretion, e.g., Salmonella bacteria and High Path Avian Influenza virus can survive for months after excretion. *J.C. Chee-Sanford, et.al, Occurrence and Diversity of Tetracycline Resistant Genes in Lagoons and Groundwater Underlying Two Swine Production Facilities, 2001 **Tueber, M Veterinary Use and Antibiotic Resistance, Swiss Laboratory of Food Microbiology, 2001

18. Waste Treatment and Antimicrobials • Antimicrobials are complex compounds that resist biological decomposition waste treatment. • Anaerobic digestion destroyed only 59% of oxytetracycline in manures in 64 days. Methane production was reduced from 20-80% when manures contain antibiotics, depending on the concentration of antibiotics in the manures. ** • Composting destroyed 95% of oxytetracyline in manures within first week. Also, levels of oxytetracycline resistant bacteria were 10-fold lower. **** • Antibiotics found intact in sewage sludge were ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, norfloxacin, ofloxacin, and triclosan.*** *J.Fick, et.al., Antivial Osetimiver is not Removed or Degraded in Normal Sewage Treatment, 2007 **O.A. Arikan, et.al., Fate and Effect of Oxytetracycline during Anaerobic Digestion of Manure from Therapeutically Treated Calves., 2006 ***E.Z.Harrison, et.al., Organic Chemicals in Sewage Sludges, 2006 ****O.A. Arikan, et.al, Composting Rapidly Reduces Levels of Extractable Oxytetracycline in Manure from Therapeutically Treated Beef Calves, 2005.

19. Antibiotic Resistant Pathogens • There is horizontal gene transfer of antibiotic resistant genes in farm animal colons and there is stable maintenance of resistance transferred genes. (e.g., tetracycline, erythromycin, ampicillin, vancomycin, clindamycine resistance common)*, ** • Antibiotic resistance genes in animals and humans contain identical elements, enabling spread from animal microflora to human microflora through the fecal-oral route.** *N.B. Shoemaker, et.al. Evidence for Extensive Resistance Gene Transfer, 2000. ** M.Tueber, M Veterinary Use and Antibiotic Resistance, Swiss Laboratory of Food Microbiology, 2001

20. Examples of Antibiotic Resistance • One out of every three cases of human infection by Salmonella is resistant to antibiotics. • Nearly all strains of Staphylococcus infection in the US are now resistant to penicillin. • More than 2 MM patients get infections in the hospital, and that more than 70% of bacteria causing hospital-acquired infections are resistant to at least one antibiotic commonly used to treat them.* *CDC website data.

21. Bioaerosol risks • Bioaerosols inside intensive pig farms have shown more than 90% had multi-drug resistance.*,** • Antibiotic resistance bacteria have been recovered 150 meters downwind from intensive pig farms.** • Swine workers and veterinarians have elevated carriage of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphyloccoccus aureus), and the Netherlands isolates them upon hospital entry.*, *** *A.Chapin, et.al, Airborne Multidrug-Resistance Bacteria Isolated from Swine CAFO, 2005. **S.G. Gibbs, et.al. Isolation of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Downwind of Swine CAFO, 2006 *** Wulf, M, et.al. MRSA in Veterinary Doctors and Students in Netherlands, 2006

22. Bans on Antimicrobial Use • EU banned 5 antibiotics from in-feed livestock use (i.e., zinc bacitracin, avoparicin, spiramycin, tylosin phosphate, virginiamycin) in 1999. • Wider bans on antimicrobials from in-feed livestock use have been implemented in Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands and Switzerland. • US banned fluoroquinolones from any livestock use (in 2005 after years of resistance in court by the pharamceutical company, despite FDA evidence).

23. Danish Monitoring • Since banning antimicrobials as feed additives for growth promotion, Danish monitoring has shown*: • The prevalence of resistant zoonotic pathogens dropped significantly. • Zoonotic pathogen isolates from Danish pork and poultry less resistant to antibiotics than isolates from imported pork and poultry. • Zoonotic pathogen isolates from human infections acquired domestically were less resistant than isolates from infections acquired abroad. *DANMAP, 2005

24. Arsenicals in the Environment • One group of antimicrobials used for growth promotion contains organic arsenic compounds (e.g., roxarsonne, arsanilic acid). • Up to 90% of the arsenic fed to livestock is excreted. • Some is converted in the gut from organic to toxic inorganic forms before excretion. • Up to 70-90% of arsenic in poultry litter was found to be readily soluble in water.* • Arsenic feed additive compounds readily degrade to toxic forms in anaerobic/reducing settings within the environment. • Anaerobic digestion may convert all of the arsenic to toxic forms. • Burning of animal wastes releases arsenic stack gas emissions. • EU and New Zealand banned arsenicals from in-feed livestock use. *B.P.Jackson, et.al., Fate of Arsenic Compounds in Poultry Litter upon Land Application, 2006 D. Rutherfold, et.al., Environmental Fate of Roxarsone in Poultry Litter, 2003

25. Arsenic in Manure and Litter • Reported levels in US poultry manure and litter were up to 32 mg/kg arsenic*. • Reported levels in US pelletalized poultry litter sold as fertilizer up to 39 mg/kg arsenic.** • Reported levels in Chinese swine manure were up to 119 mg/kg.*** • Average US sewage sludge is only 10 mg/kg.**** *B.K.Anderson, et.al., Effect of Dietary 3-Nitro-4-Hydroxyphenylarsonic Acid on Total Broiler Excreta and Broiler Litter, 2003. **K.E.Nachman, et.al., Arsenic: A Roadblock to Potential Animal Waste Management Solutions, 2005. ***Y-X.Li, et.all, Emissions of Additive Arsenic in Beijing Pig Feeds and the Residues in Pig Manure, 2005. ****Harrison, E.Z., et.al., Land Application of Sewage Sludges: an Appraisal of the US Regulations, 1999

26. Are Arsenic Regs Adequate? • Manure applications can result in soil accumulations of arsenic and heavy metals, but manures are not regulated for these substances. • US EPA Part 503 standard allows 41 mg/kg of arsenic in sewage sludge applied to land, assuming a soil/sludge mixture results.* • New York soil cleanup goal is 7.5 mg/kg.** • Florida residential soil limit is 2.1 mg/kg, assuming ingestion by children. Colorado and Illinois residential soil limit is 0.4 mg/kg.** • Grazing cattle can ingest up to 18% of their dry matter intake as soil; and sheep ingest up to 30% soil during grazing.* *E.Z. Harrison, et.al., Land Application of Sewage Sludges: an Appraisal of US Regs, 1999 **T. Townsend, et.al, unpublished notes on Arsenic soil limits, 2007

27. Arsenic Pollution from Chinese Hog Farms • Study of manure application from hog farms showed arsenic in potato crop soils ranged from 25.8-55.5 mg/kg, in rice paddy soils ranged from 15-23 mg/kg, and in fish pond sediment ranged from 30-45 mg/kg, compared to the national maximum allowable arsenic in soil standard of 15 mg/kg.* • Sweet potato, rice and fish fatty tissue uptake from these soils was significant, with higher uptake correlating with higher soil levels.* *Wang, Fu Min, et al. “Investigation on the Pollution of Organoarsenical Additives to Animal Feed in the Surroundings and Farmland near Hog Farms”, 2006.

28. Copper in Hog Feed* • Study at 10 large Chinese hog farms showed more than 60% of the feed samples exceeded EU copper standards for addition to feed.* • About 90% of the copper fed was eventually excreted to manure.* • Manures in this China showed copper levels were concentrated 3-5 times over levels found in feed, with levels over 2,000 mg/kg found in some manures.* *Li, Yan-Xia, et. al., “Contributions of Additives Cu to its Accumulation in Pig Feces, study in Beijing and Fuxon, China”, 2006

29. Fish Production Growing • Fish provide 16% of global animal protein. • Fish production grew 500% in last 3 decades, compared to meat growth of 60%. • Share of aquaculture in food fish increased from 3.9% in 1970 to over 40% in 2004. • China is the largest aquaculture producer in the world, and obtains over 75% of its food fish from aquaculture…49 MM tonnes in 2004. World Bank, Aquaculture: Changing the Face of the Waters, 2006

30. Aquaculture • Livestock manures are used in some fish ponds to stimulate algal growth, and these manures include livestock antimicrobials and arsenic-based growth promoter residuals. • Extensive non-therapeutic use of antimicrobials to increase fish yields. • Many fish antimicrobials are also used by humans. Their use increases antibiotic resistant pathogens in human food and in the environment. • Uneatten feed and fish excreta pass directly into water column and significantly accumulate in benthic sediments.

31. Antimicrobials in Aquaculture • Non-therapeutic use of antimicrobials are used to increase fish yields (e.g., trout, salmon, catfish).* • Nearly 170 kg/hectare of antibiotics are applied to salmon aquaculture in the U.S.** • Study showed that over 70% of wild fish in close proximity to aquaculture contained quinolone residues.** *Including: oxytetracycline, trimethoprim, sufamerazine, sulfadimethozine, formalin, and parasides for external fungi and protozoa. *C. Benbrook, Antibiotic Drug Use in US Aquaculture, 2002 **P.H. Serrano, Responsible Use of Antibiotics in Aquaculture, FAO, 2005

32. Antibiotic Resistance from Aquaculture • Viet Nam study of bacteria from 3 catfish ponds showed antibiotic resistance rates were ampicillin (69%), oxytetracycline (61%), trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole (61%), nalidixic acid (51%), nitrofurantoin (37%) and chloramphenicol (33%). • Danish study showed a single trout pond treatment with oxolinic acid lead to antibiotic resistance in isolates from bacteria in the pond (33-54%) and the downgradient stream (21-55%).** • South African fish pond isolates had high levels of resistance to tetracycline (78%), amoxicillin (89%) and augmentin (86%).*** *S. Sarter, et.al, Antibiotic Resistance in Gram-negative Bacteria Isolated from Farmed Catfish, 2006 **L. Guardabassi, et.al. Increase in the Prevalence of Oxolinic Acid Resistant Ancinetobacter spp.Observed in a Stream Receiving the Effluent from a Freshwater Trout Farm Following the Treatment with Oxolic Acid-Medicated Feed, 2000 ***L. Jacobs, et.al. Characterization of Integrons and Tetracycline Resistance Determinants in Aeromonas spp. Isolated from South African Aquaculture Systems, 2006

33. Antimicrobial Stability in Marine Aquatic Sediments • Norwegian studies showed: • Large portion of antimicrobials used in marine aquaculture reached sediments below sea cages and persisted for several months. • Antimicrobial resistance developed in sediment bacteria. • In laboratory studies designed to exclude outwash, over six months, there was no significant reduction in the concentration or antibacterial activity of flumequine, oxolinic acid, and sulfadiazine. • Oxytetracycline persisted, but lost antimicrobial activity after a month. * O.B. Samuelsen, et.al. Stability of Antimicrobail Agents in an Artificial Marine Aquaculture Sediment studied under laboratory conditions, 1994

34. What can we do?Ideas for the global dialogue…. • Global cooperation of agencies and private sector to assess the problems and needs. • Farm-to-Fork tracking of livestock extended to all livestock production, not just for high-end markets. • Disclosure of feed and water additives by animal and aquaculture producers, as well as by feed manufacturers.

35. What can we do?Ideas for global dialogue… • Monitoring of manures for antimicrobials, antibiotic-resistant micro-organisms, arsenic, heavy metals, melamine, hormones, etc. • Global ban of livestock use of arsenicals for growth promotion, as arsenic is a persistent and cumulative priority pollutant that is highly mobile and a proven carcinogenic in chronic low doses. • Ban routine non-therapeutic livestock use of those antibiotics that are important for human therapy, and require veterinary prescription for therapy use, to control the global surge in antibiotic resistant pathogens. • Invest in improved infrastructure for livestock marketing and processing, and related waste management.

36. What can we do?Ideas for global dialogue… • Harmonize regulatory criteria for land application of manures, compost and biosolids, as well as residential soil limits. Require livestock wastes from intensive farms to meet the same persistent pollutant criteria (e.g., for arsenic, heavy metals) as used for solid waste compost or sewage sludge, or residential soil limits if bagged and sold on the open market for home gardening use. • Clarify and harmonize regulations on organic crop and livestock production regarding use of manures from intensive livestock production on crop and grazing land.

37. What can we do?Ideas for global dialogue… • Develop economic instruments for proper waste treatment. • Address market pricing policies for feed, energy, water, and other services that favor landless factory farming. • Reduce feed subsidies that favor landless intensive farms over land-based pastoral farms. • Fence all solid waste disposal sites and ban animals from entering and grazing; convert open dumps to landfills so that wastes are covered daily and not available to birds, rodents or other potential disease hosts or vectors. • Better educate and involve waste management, livestock and health professionals on these cross-sectoral issues, and work in a multi-disciplinary manner.

38. Links for Information http://www.worldbank.org/solidwaste (for World Bank solid waste activities) http://carbonfinance.org (for World Bank carbon finance activities) http://www.who.int (for World Heath Organization) http://www.fao.org (for UN Food and Agriculture Organization) http://www.oie.org (for World Organization for Animal Health) http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance (for US Center for Disease Control) http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/index.php (for One Health Initiative) Sandra Cointreau , Solid Waste Advisor scointreau@worldbank.org