Extensive use of antibiotics among animals can lead to several life-threatening diseases in near future. It is known that industrial farms usually feed their livestock with low doses of the drugs to boost growth and protect their livestock from diseases.

But a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal predicts the geography of antibiotic abuse in near future.

The study indicated that the next big threat will be raised from the middle-income nations like Brazil, Russia, India, and China, where number of people preferring meat in their diets is increasing tremendously. Due to this the extensive farms will try to meet this demand as affordably as possible.

According to the study, between 2010 and 2030, the worldwide consumption of antibiotics will increase by 67% and around 33% of this increase will be due to changing livestock practices in fast-developing nations.

The author estimated that the increase will mainly be driven by chicken and pork, instead of cattle.

Study author Timothy Robinson stated that chicken and pigs are quite easier to raise quickly in tight spaces wile cattle herds takes time to grow.

The researchers said the developing nations will use most of the antibiotics in livestock because they also have to bear a lopsided disease burden.

They also said there will be nations where restrictions on antibiotics use might be quite difficult to put into practice.

"When it comes to Europe, we have quite strict legislation on antimicrobial use. In the U. S., things are a bit looser. In India and China and Russia, it's one thing producing the legislation and it's another thing enforcing it", Robinson said.

Ramanan Laxminarayan, director of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy said that chicken raised without antibiotics might have a lower chance of harboring resistant pathogens like Campylobacter and Salmonella.