Strange bacteria found on meat in Vietnam

On January 8, Ms. Vu Thi Quynh Giao, Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, said that currently, the misuse and overuse of antibiotics is still common in the Vietnamese livestock industry, one of the causes leading to antibiotic resistance. This phenomenon occurs when bacteria resist the effects of drugs, causing failure in the treatment of infectious diseases in animals and humans.

Scientists from the ViParc project (Oxford University Clinical Research Unit) recently found colistin-resistant Salmonella bacteria in pork purchased from a traditional market in Ho Chi Minh City (non-typhoid Salmonella).

This is the first time colistin-resistant bacteria have been detected in meat in Vietnam. Colistin is an antibiotic used to treat serious bacterial infections and is usually only used in humans as a last resort when other drugs have failed.

One of the students' entries aims to promote the use of clean poultry food.

On the same day, the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases announced that it had just launched a photo contest with the theme "Stopping poultry from using antibiotics" to reduce the use of antibiotics in chicken and duck production.

The competition was organized by the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, the Center for Health Communication and Education and the Department of Education and Training of Dong Thap province, taking place in Dong Thap province from the end of 2017 to present. 123 students from 2 high schools participated in coming up with many new, humorous and lively ways of communicating about antibiotic abuse in Vietnam, through photos, drawings and short articles.

The program is a community activity under ViParc, a research project with the aim of helping people in the Mekong Delta raise healthy chickens but using less antibiotics.