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
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.
 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
 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

 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
 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
 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.
 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.
 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.
 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.
 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
 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
 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
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.
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.
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).
 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
 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.
 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
 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.
 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
 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).
 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
 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
 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
 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
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.
 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
 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

 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.
 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
 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
 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
 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.
 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.
 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.
 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.
 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