Oxytetracycline and Gentamicin: Two Clinicallyrelevant Antimicrobials Widely Used by Costa Rican Farmers. Implications of Their Use Outside Clinical Cettings and Request for Action

Abstract

This mini-review deals with oxytetracycline and gentamicin: two clinically-relevant antimicrobials that find extensive usage in horticulture and other productive activities. The manuscript begins with a few words on their mechanism of action and clinical utility. Thereafter I address the most important mechanisms of acquired or intrinsic resistance described to date and some implications of the unrestricted use of these drugs outside clinical settings. A number of reports on the occurrence of antimicrobial-resistance genes and antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in agroecosystems illustrates that a threat exists and justifies the plea for monitoring programs and environmental risk assessments with which the article concludes.

Esta mini-revisión se relaciona con el uso de la oxitetraciclina y la gentamicina, dos antimicrobianos de aplicación en medicina humana, en la horticultura y otras actividades productivas. El manuscrito inicia con una breve descripción del mecanismo de acción y uso clínico de ambas drogas. Seguidamente, el autor aborda los principales mecanismos de resistencia adquirida que han sido descritos hasta la fecha y algunas implicaciones de su mal uso y abuso en escenarios no hospitalarios. En este sentido, sepresentan reportes de la ocurrencia de bacterias resistentes y genes de resistencia que demuestran la existencia de un riesgo y que justifican la instauración de programas de monitoreo y de impacto ambiental.