Addressing Antimicrobial Resistance in U.S. Poultry: Why Environmental Surveillance Matters

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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) can feel like an abstract, far-away crisis until you realize how easily it travels through connected systems and how quietly it can persist when we only watch the “end product.” We talk with Dr. Pankaj Gaonkar about antimicrobial resistance in the U.S. poultry industry, starting with a clear definition of AMR and why it is a pressing global health and economic threat. From there, we dig into the uncomfortable reality that resistance can still be detected even as antimicrobial use declines, and why that “disconnect” matters for veterinarians, producers, and anyone who cares about food systems.

A big theme is scale and structure. Modern poultry production is often vertically integrated, moving birds through a coordinated chain from breeder farms and hatcheries to broiler grow-out and processing. That efficiency has a downside: if antimicrobial resistant bacteria emerge at one point, they can move through the system. We also unpack how disease pressure in high-density environments can influence therapeutic decisions, and how older antimicrobial exposure can leave behind residues and resistant organisms that continue to shape selection pressure over time.

The heart of our conversation is environmental surveillance and the One Health approach. Monitoring litter, soil, water, and air around poultry houses helps reveal where resistance is maintained and how it moves between “inside” and “outside” the farm. Pankaj explains key tools like metagenomics, qPCR, and culture-based methods, along with the real challenges around cost, standardization, and interpreting results in complex microbial communities. We close with practical roles for veterinarians and producers, and what smarter policy could look like to strengthen AMR monitoring without creating unnecessary burden.

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JAVMA article: https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.25.07.0488

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