This article systematically reviews the current status of veterinary antibiotic use in Canada and its environmental and health safety impacts, while proposing an innovative antibiotic residue reuse strategy that offers new insights into mitigating antibiotic resistance.
Literature Overview
The article "Use, Risk and Revalorization of Veterinary Antibiotics: A Canadian Perspective" published in the journal *Antibiotics* reviews and summarizes Canada's current practices in veterinary antibiotic use and regulation, while exploring strategies for reutilizing antibiotic residues. The article highlights that widespread antibiotic use in livestock threatens environmental sustainability and human health, particularly given the growing crisis of antibiotic resistance.
Background Knowledge
Antibiotic use in livestock has become a critical component of global health and environmental challenges. While antibiotics play an irreplaceable therapeutic role in human and veterinary medicine, their misuse and overuse accelerate the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). These resistance genes can disseminate broadly through horizontal gene transfer in the environment, posing dual risks to human health, food production, and ecosystems. Canada, as one of the world's leading consumers of antibiotics, represents a typical case for studying antibiotic use patterns and management strategies. Furthermore, the treatment and reuse of antibiotic residues have become research priorities, particularly in agricultural waste management. Although various treatment methods (e.g., composting, anaerobic digestion) exist, their efficiency in degrading antibiotics remains limited. Thus, this article proposes an innovative solution: insect-mediated biotransformation of antibiotic residues to achieve value-added utilization of agricultural antibiotic waste, offering an eco-friendly pathway for antibiotic management.
Research Methods and Experiments
The article evaluates antibiotic use patterns in livestock, environmental pathways of antibiotic residues, and their impact on antibiotic resistance through literature review and analysis of Canadian antibiotic usage data. The research team also analyzes the effectiveness of current antibiotic management practices (e.g., composting, anaerobic digestion) in degrading antibiotics and explores the potential of insects as biotransformation agents for antibiotic residue treatment.
Key Conclusions and Perspectives
Research Significance and Prospects
This study not only reveals the environmental and health risks associated with antibiotic use in Canadian livestock but also introduces a forward-looking strategy for antibiotic waste valorization. Future research should further investigate the specific mechanisms of insect-mediated antibiotic residue transformation and assess its applicability under diverse environmental conditions. Additionally, the study emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration within the One Health framework to address antibiotic resistance, providing a regionalized reference model for global antibiotic management.
Conclusion
Widespread antibiotic use in veterinary and agricultural contexts has emerged as a critical challenge for global health and environmental safety. This article systematically analyzes antibiotic use patterns, resistance gene dissemination pathways, and their impacts on ecosystems and human health using Canadian livestock data. It also proposes an innovative insect-mediated biotransformation strategy to reduce antibiotic residues and enable resource recovery. This approach not only addresses antibiotic resistance but also provides new directions for sustainable antibiotic waste management. Future priorities include regionalized antibiotic monitoring systems and refined management policies to mitigate contamination, with further optimization and adoption of insect-based technologies offering a promising solution for antibiotic waste valorization.
