Antimicrobial use is recognized as a major driver of antimicrobial resistance. An understanding of current practices can lead to better targeting of interventions aimed at reducing the use of antimicrobials.
A new study published Antibiotics (May 2023) analyzed the distribution and use of veterinary drugs in peri-urban smallholder poultry systems in Kajiado and Machakos counties in Kenya through a survey and key informant interviews.
A total of 100 farmers were interviewed. The majority of the farmers (58%) were over 50 years old, and all kept chickens, while 66% kept other livestock.
Antibiotics constituted 43% of the drugs reportedly used on the poultry farms. These were mostly administered by the farmers themselves through water. Leftover drugs were either stored for later use (89%) or disposed of (11%). Incineration was the main method for the disposal of leftover drugs and empty containers.
The antibiotic drug distribution chain relied on agrovet shops that were supplied by local distributors and pharmaceutical companies, which, in turn, supplied drugs to the farmers. Farmers reportedly purchased drugs without prescriptions and rarely observed the withdrawal periods. Drug quality was a concern, especially for products requiring reconstitution.
Citation
Mutua, F., Kiarie, G., Mbatha, M., Onono, J., Boqvist, S., Kilonzi, E., Mugisha, L., Moodley, A. and Sternberg-Lewerin, S. 2023. Antimicrobial use by peri-urban poultry smallholders of Kajiado and Machakos counties in Kenya. Antibiotics 12(5): 905.
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Tuesday, May 16, 2023 - 16:12
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Antimicrobial resistance is a public health problem worldwide. Bangladesh, like its neighbouring countries, faces many public health challenges, including access to safe food, inadequate food surveillance, as well as increasing antimicrobial resistance. A new study published in Antibiotics (Mar 2023) investigated bacterial contamination and the antimicrobial resistance profile of pathogens in marketed food in Bangladesh. The study also explored barriers to reducing antimicrobial resistance in the country. The study was carried out by researchers affiliated to the Bangladesh Agricultural University, the Bangladesh Department of Livestock Services, the Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute, the International Livestock Research Institute, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala University and the University of Greenwich. The researchers collected 366 tomatoes, 359 chicken and 249 fish samples from 732 vendors in traditional markets in urban, peri-urban and rural areas in Bangladesh, as well as from 121 modern retails in Dhaka capital to analyse Vibrio cholerae and Escherichia coli in fish, Salmonella in chicken, and Salmonella and E. coli in tomatoes. Antibiotic susceptibility against 11 antibiotics was tested using a disc diffusion test and interpreted by an automated zone inhibition reader. A qualitative study using key informant interviews was also conducted to explore antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance reduction potential in Bangladesh. They found E. coli in 14.21% of tomatoes and 26.91% of fish samples, while 7.38% of tomatoes and 17.27% of chicken were positive for Salmonella, and 44.98% of fish were positive for Vibrio cholerae. About 70% of all isolated pathogens were multidrug resistant, that is, they were resistant to three or more antibiotic groups. Qualitative interviews revealed an inadequate surveillance system for antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance in Bangladesh, especially in the agriculture sector. To be able to fully understand the human health risks from bacterial hazards in the food and the antimicrobial resistance situation in Bangladesh, the authors of the study propose that a nationwide study with a One Health approach be conducted, including antimicrobial resistance testing and assessment of antimicrobial use and its drivers. The study was supported by the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health, the CGIAR Initiative on Resilient Cities and the CGIAR Initiative on One Health. Citation Samad, M.A., Eberson, L., Begum, R., Alam, M.G.S., Talukdar, F., Akter, R., Sinh Dang-Xuan, Sharma, G., Islam, S., Siddiky, N.A., Uddin, A.S.M.A., Mahmud, M.A., Sarker, M.S., Rahman, M.S., Grace, D. and Lindahl, J.F. 2023. Microbial contamination and antibiotic resistance in marketed food in Bangladesh: Current situation and possible improvements. Antibiotics 12(3): 555. Photo credit: Biponibag fish market (Kingkar Shaha, ECOFISH II/WorldFish) Blog post by Tezira Lore originally posted on AgHealthSaturday, March 25, 2023 - 10:55
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While the One Health framework is now widely accepted as a strength in understanding antimicrobial resistance, its application in intervention design to prevent and control drug-resistant infections across humans, animals, and the environment remains weak. The potential for infection prevention and control measures to contribute to the antimicrobial resistance agenda is recognised in rhetoric, but evidence to guide action is patchy and uncoordinated. While water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and on-farm biosecurity interventions are key strategies for preventing and controlling infections, they are frequently implemented separately for humans and animals. A new article published in BMJ Global Health (Mar 2023) argues for integration across these sectors to improve planning for antimicrobial resistance control. The authors suggest several pathways to illustrate WASH and biosecurity overlaps and their potential to impact antimicrobial resistance directly or indirectly in the human-animal-environmental interface. They propose integrating these two fields for the prevention and control of infections and antimicrobial resistance, which will improve not only human but also animal and environmental health, leveraging the synergies and differences of these two traditionally separated fields, and recognising their potential to complement each other when addressing health issues in the One Health triad. Citation Jimenez, C.E.P., Keestra, S.M., Tandon, P., Pickering, A.J., Moodley, A., Cumming, O. and Chandler, C.I.R. 2023. One Health WASH: an AMR-smart integrative approach to preventing and controlling infection in farming communities. BMJ Global Health 8(3): e011263.Friday, March 10, 2023 - 11:37
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Increased use of antibiotics in livestock is a public health concern, as it poses risks of antibiotic residues and antibiotic-resistant pathogens entering the food chains and infecting humans. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 216 poultry farms to study knowledge, attitudes and practices of poultry farmers on the use of antibiotics in urban and peri-urban areas of Ouagadougou. The study is published in the January 2023 issue of the journal Antibiotics. Results show that only 17% of the 216 farmers attended training on poultry production. Majority of farmers (86%) were not knowledgeable about the rational use of antibiotics. When there was a disease outbreak, 32% of farmers used veterinary drugs without a prescription and 23% consulted a community animal health worker. About 80% of farmers reported using chicken meat as per normal if the bird died during or right after treatment with an antibiotic. Knowledge of rational use of antibiotics was positively influenced by a good attitude adopted by the farmer during the illness of birds and negatively influenced by disease treatment success and high level of education of the farmer. Lack of knowledge about the rational use of antibiotics including their use without a prescription are serious risk factors for the emergence of antimicrobial resistance. Awareness of farmers and other veterinary drug supply chain actors such as drug stockists and animal health workers on best practices in antimicrobial use and promotion of good biosecurity on farms are important to reduce the misuse of antibiotics. Citation Sawadogo, A., Kagambèga, A., Moodley, A., Ouedraogo, A.A., Barro, N. and Dione, M. 2023. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance among poultry farmers in urban and peri-urban areas of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Antibiotics 12(1): 133.Wednesday, February 8, 2023 - 11:22
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Antibiotic resistance is a global concern threatening achievements in health care since the discovery of antibiotics. In Kenya, this topic remains understudied in a context of rising demand for livestock products, intensification and the concomitant increase in antibiotic use. Our study investigates drivers and practices of antibiotic use in poultry farming. The study was conducted in Kiambu County, Kenya. A qualitative research methodology was employed: fourteen key informant interviews, 20 in-depth interviews, and four focus group discussions were undertaken. The interviews were semi-structured. Themes and subthemes from the interviews were generated through inductive analysis. Of the farmers interviewed, 68% were female, thirty three percent of the sampled farmers could not read, and the majority (85%) of farmers had reared poultry for at least 10 years. Research findings showed that farmers extensively used antibiotics. Antibiotic use was influenced by factors such as high disease burden, access to medicines and economic pressure. Common practices included prophylactic use, use of antibiotics to enhance production, self-prescription use, use of combination antibiotics, and antibiotics classified as critically important in human medicine. Key information sources for the farmers were agro- veterinary dispensers, sellers of day-old chicks, and peer-learning. External factors driving the inappropriate use of antibiotics included access to the antibiotics, influence by marketers such as sellers of day-old chicks, and branding. Use of antibiotics was also driven by economic factors among the farmers, sellers of day-old chicks and agro-veterinary dispensers. Our findings indicate widespread use of antibiotics among poultry farmers in our study site. The use of antibiotics is influenced by an interplay of issues at the farmers’ level as well as broader social, economic and structural level factors. A multifaceted One Health approach focusing on regulatory frameworks, knowledge transfer, and research is required to promote stewardship and judicious use of antibiotics. Citation Kariuki, J.W., Jacobs, J., Ngogang, M.P. and Howland, O. 2023. Antibiotic use by poultry farmers in Kiambu County, Kenya: exploring practices and drivers of potential overuse. Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control 12: 3.Thursday, January 5, 2023 - 11:04
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Milk vendors play an important role in India's dairy value chain; however, their food safety practices are poorly understood. From a milk safety perspective, vendor behaviour is significant because it has the potential to affect both consumer and producer behaviour. This study describes the types of milk vendors in two Indian states, in an attempt to investigate vendors' hygienic knowledge and practices toward safety and antimicrobial resistance. A cross-sectional study was conducted in the states of Assam and Haryana, India. In selected villages, all the milk vendors identified at the time of visit were interviewed. A questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge and practices on antibiotics, milk safety and hygiene. The milk samples were tested for presence of antibiotic resistant bacteria using antibiotic susceptibility testing. In total, 244 milk vendors were interviewed during the survey. Out of these, 146 (59.8%) of the vendors traded raw milk, while 40.2% traded pasteurized milk. Vendors were categorized depending on whom they supplied milk to. Five categories were identified: Those who sold at grocery shops. Those who sold on roadside (roadside vendors). Those who sold from door to door. Those who sold to sweet makers/tea stalls. Those who sold from own home/other entity. The level of training among vendors on milk hygiene was non-existent and the knowledge related to antibiotics was low. Most of them (86.07%) agreed that boiled milk is always safer than raw milk but almost half (48.77%) of them admitted that sometimes they drink milk without boiling it. Most vendors believed that they could identify whether milk is safe or not for consumption just by its appearance and smell. Out of 124 milk samples collected from surveyed milk vendors and tested for the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, 80 (64.52%) tested positive. In conclusion, this study highlights the low levels of knowledge regarding food safety among milk vendors. It shows the predominance of informal milk vendors in the surveyed states and prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in milk traded by them. Training may be a beneficial strategy for addressing the issue. Citation Sharma, G., Leahy, E., Deka, R.P., Shome, B.R., Bandyopadhyay, S., Dey, T.K., Goyal, N.K., Lundkvist, Å., Grace, D. and Lindahl, J.F. 2022. Antibiotic use, knowledge, and practices of milk vendors in India's informal dairy value chain. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 6: 1058384.Thursday, December 1, 2022 - 12:00
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The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) has launched a new project, Selecting efficient farm-level antimicrobial stewardship interventions from a One Health perspective, that will use a One Health approach to assess which farm-level antimicrobial use interventions are most efficient to prevent the development and transmission of antimicrobial resistance in poultry in Senegal. The project will provide explicit impact estimates and ranking for a range of farm-level antimicrobial resistance interventions in Senegal, highlighting where future research could be most valuable in understanding intervention efficiency from a One Health perspective. The project was launched at a workshop held on 26–27 September 2022 in Senegal. Participants included representatives from the Senegal Ministry of Livestock and Animal Production, the National Veterinary Council, the National One Health Platform, Inter-State School of Veterinary Medicine, Pasteur Institute, public hospitals of Dakar, poultry breeders’ associations and veterinary and medical laboratories. Also present were veterinary drug importers, private-sector poultry producers, private veterinarians and veterinary researchers from national and international organizations. Among the topics of discussion were the proposed antimicrobial resistance impact assessment models and human clinical syndromes that the project will study. Project activities were planned and partner roles and responsibilities outlined. In line with the principles of a One Health approach, participants emphasised the need for closer collaboration and sharing of information with human health experts in the implementation of the project. Through the Ministry of Livestock and Animal Production, the project will contribute towards training and awareness creation on the rational use of antibiotics in poultry production. The data and outputs from the project will be made available through a centralised, open access database under Senegal's National One Health Platform. This will give policymakers access to evidence on the impact of antimicrobial resistance in the poultry sector to inform resource allocation towards national antimicrobial resistance control strategies. In addition, modelling of antimicrobial resistance impact will help in assessing spillover of antimicrobial resistance into the environment as a result of human activities. ILRI will implement the three-year project in collaboration with the Senegal High National Council for Global Health Security Agenda, mainly the National One Health Platform, the Senegal Ministry of Livestock and Animal Production, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the University of Copenhagen. The project is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. For more information, visit the project web page or contact the principal investigator Michel Dione, ILRI senior scientist in animal health (m.dione@cgiar.org). Access the workshop report (in French) Citation Zannou, O., Faye, P.A. and Dione, M. 2022. Choisir des interventions efficaces de gestion des antimicrobiens au niveau de la ferme du point de vue de l’approche une Seule Santé : Cas d’étude du Sénégal. Rapport de l’atelier de lancement du projet « Selecting efficient farm-level antimicrobial stewardship interventions from a One Health perspective (SEFASI) ». Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. Photo credit: Peri-urban poultry farming in Thiès, Senegal (photo credit: ILRI/Pape Faye)Monday, November 7, 2022 - 10:13
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Antimicrobial use (AMU) contributes to the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a serious threat to animal and public health. Interventions to address this challenge in all One Health sectors are urgently needed. The Management of animal diseases and antimicrobial use by information and communication technology to control antimicrobial resistance in East Africa (MAD-tech-AMR) project focuses on the poultry sector in Kenya and Uganda and aims to provide an information and communication technology (ICT) framework for improved monitoring and control of AMU and AMR in livestock in low- and middle-income countries. The project is implemented through a consortium led by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. The International Livestock Research Institute leads project activities in Kenya in collaboration with the University of Nairobi, and Makerere University leads project activities in Uganda. In Kenya, Kajiado and Machakos counties were selected as the main study sites. The objectives of the MAD-tech-AMR project are to: characterize current use of veterinary drugs, including key actors and critical aspects preventing optimal AMU, in poultry production in East Africa; develop and pilot-test an ICT framework to monitor AMU and disease prevalence in poultry, improving diagnostic capability and AMU; and assess the impact of improved monitoring and animal health support in urban and peri-urban poultry production in Kenya and Uganda. A workshop to discuss the ICT framework was held on 28–30 June 2022 in Machakos, Kenya. The Directorate of Veterinary Services, county veterinary and livestock departments (Machakos and Kajiado), the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, pharmaceutical companies, feed industry, poultry farmers and agrovet-veterinary outlets were the key stakeholders invited to the workshop, to discuss the Animal Disease Information System (ADIS). ADIS is a key ICT output of the project. The workshop was an opportunity to present the system and allow stakeholders to provide inputs before its finalization and testing in the field. The June 2022 workshop was a follow up to a virtual stakeholder engagement in 2021 during which findings from the baseline study were presented and discussed. Access the workshop report here Citation Mutua, F., Boqvist, S., Onono, J., Mugisha, L. and Sternberg, S. 2022. Information and communication technology framework for improved monitoring and control of antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance. Workshop report. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI.Monday, September 26, 2022 - 11:01
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As long as we have had ways to destroy microbes, microbes have been fighting back. Alexander Fleming, who discovered the world's first antibiotic, penicillin, warned that misusing antibiotics could lead to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). He was right. Today AMR can be found worldwide and is a serious problem. If it is not tackled now, by 2050 one person will die every three seconds because of AMR. The Boma presenters Brenda Coromina and Elliot Carleton explore how resistance develops, the scale of the problem, and why it can be found in the most surprising places. This episode features Arshnee Moodley, antimicrobial resistance team leader at ILRI. She discusses through what action countries need to take against AMR to avert a grim future, and why each country needs a different plan. High-income countries can apply resources and large investments against AMR in ways which low-income countries can't. But AMR isn't just a high income problem or a low income problem. With the ease at which it can spread around the Earth, it's everybody's problem. Listen to the podcast episode hereMonday, September 5, 2022 - 15:47
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The 16th International Symposium of Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics (ISVEE 16) was held on 7–12 August 2022 in Halifax, Canada. The theme of the symposium was Connecting animals, people, and their shared environments. Research from the CGIAR Antimicrobial Resistance Hub was featured at ISVEE 16 in both oral and poster presentations. A poster presentation by Tushar K. Dey and colleagues highlighted molecular characterization of antibiotic resistant bacteria and antimicrobial residues in the dairy milk in India. This study sought to better understand aspects of milk safety in India by assessing antibiotic residues and resistant bacteria in milk from sampled dairy farmers and vendors. A poster presentation by Florence Mutua and colleagues gave an overview of a study on antimicrobial use in a peri-urban smallholder poultry system, Kenya. The objective of the study was to analyse the distribution and current use of veterinary drugs in peri-urban smallholder poultry systems, Garima Sharma and colleagues gave an oral presentation on a research study in India that compared the effectiveness of different approaches to raise knowledge and awareness about antimicrobial resistance and antibiotic use among dairy farmers, veterinarians and paraveterinarians in four states in India. Finally, M. Worku and colleagues prepared a poster on a sytematic review and meta-analysis of erythromycin-resistant Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli among humans and chickens in Africa. The review aimed to estimate the pooled magnitude of antimicrobial resistance of C. jejuni and C. coli. The presentation and posters are accessible via the links provided in the citations below. Citations Dey, T.K., Shome, B., Deka, R.P., Shome, R. and Lindahl, J. 2022. Molecular characterization of antibiotic resistant bacteria and antimicrobial residues in the dairy milk in India. Poster presentation at the 22nd International Symposium of Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics, Halifax, Canada, 9 August 2022. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. Mutua, F., Kiarie, G., Mbatha, M., Onono, J., Boqvist, S., Kilonzi, E., Lindahl, J. and Lewerin, S.S. 2022. Antimicrobial use in a peri-urban smallholder poultry system, Kenya. Poster presentation at the 22nd International Symposium of Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics (ISVEE 22), Halifax, Canada, 9 August 2022. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. Sharma, G., Mutua, F., Deka, R.P., Shome, R., Bandyopadhyay, S., Shome, B.R., Kumar, N.G., Grace, D., Dey, T.K. and Lindahl, J. 2022. Comparing the effectiveness of different approaches to raise awareness about antimicrobial resistance in farmers and veterinarians of India. Oral presentation at the 22nd International Symposium of Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics, Halifax, Canada, 9 August 2022. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. Worku, M., Gelaw, B., Tesema, B., Ferede, G., Moodley, A. and Grace, D. 2022. High erythromycin-resistant Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli among humans and chickens in Africa. Poster prepared for the 22nd International Symposium of Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics, Halifax, Canada, 11 August 2022. Hawassa, Ethiopia: Hawassa University.Friday, August 26, 2022 - 10:08
