Towards a bottom-up understanding of antimicrobial use and resistance on the farm: A knowledge, attitudes, and practices survey across livestock systems in five African countries

Caudell, Mark A.; Dorado-García, Alejandro; Eckford, Suzanne; Creese, Chris; Byarugaba, Denis K.; Afakye, Kofi; Chansa-Kabali, Tamara; Fasina, Folorunso Oludayo; Kabali, Emmanuel; Kiambi, Stella; Kimani, Tabitha; Mainda, Geoffrey; Mangesho, Peter; Chimpangu, Francis; Dube, Kululeko; Kikimoto, Bashiru Boi; Koka, Eric; Mugara, Tendai; Rubegwa, Bachana; Swiswa, Samuel

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0220274

Cited by 103 publications

(132 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Frequent and sub-therapeutic doses of antibiotics create the ideal selective pressure for the emergence of resistant micro-organisms. The excessive use (or misuse) of antibiotics in animal production has severe consequences for public health and the environment [ 6 , 9 ]. MDR organisms have been isolated in poultry, poultry environment, and in poultry workers and this poses serious public health threats especially in LMICs like Nigeria [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…MDR organisms have been isolated in poultry, poultry environment, and in poultry workers and this poses serious public health threats especially in LMICs like Nigeria [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ]. These MDR bacteria can be transmitted to humans via the food chain, the environment, water bodies, or by close contact with these animals [ 6 , 24 , 25 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Globally, ABR has gained global attention due to the increasing incidence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) organisms causing treatment failures, antibiotic residues in food, and the public health risks it poses [ 3 ]. There is an increase in the incidence and dissemination of MDR organisms in humans, health facilities, animals, foods, and the environment [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Risk Perceptions of Antibiotic Usage and Resistance: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Poultry Farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria

2020

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Overwhelming empirical evidence has highlighted the contribution of indiscriminate antibiotic usage (ABU) in food animals to the overall burden of antibiotic resistance (ABR) in humans, thus making antibiotic use the main selective pressure driving antibiotic resistance. The social and behavioral perspective on antibiotic use and resistance in poultry is limited. Our study therefore aimed at obtaining information on antibiotic usage, awareness of ABR, and the attitude and perceptions towards prudent antibiotic usage and ABR. A cross-sectional survey using a structured questionnaire was conducted in 125 poultry farms in Kwara state in December 2019. Most farmers (69.6%, n = 87/125) were aware of ABR and had satisfactory knowledge about ABR with a mean knowledge score of 3.2 ± 1.5. Age (older farmers; OR: 1.1, 95% CI: 1.0, 1.2) and gender (male respondents, OR: 8.5, 95% CI: 3.0, 23.9; p < 0.01) were more likely to have satisfactory knowledge of ABR. Tertiary education was significantly associated with ABR awareness (OR: 4.7; 95% CI: 0.1, 0.7; p = 0.007) and the ABR knowledge level (OR: 7.8; 95% CI: 3.3, 18.7; p < 0.01). Higher flock size was significantly associated with a satisfactory knowledge of ABR (OR: 9.5; 95% CI: 3.8, 23.6; p < 0.01). Most of the poultry farmers (68%) had positive attitudes towards prudent antibiotic use with a mean score of 2.7 ± 0.9. On the contrary, only 32.8% of poultry farmers had a desirable perception of ABR with a mean perception score of 4.9 ± 1.1. The ABR knowledge level was significantly associated with the perceptions of farmers (p < 0.05) but not their attitudes toward ABU and ABR (p = 0.083). There was evidence of unprescribed use of antibiotics in poultry and a failure to observe antibiotic withdrawal periods. These constitute a risk of exposure to unacceptable levels of drug residues from poultry products and an increased risk of ABR. Improving education and communication on antibiotic stewardship programs are crucial to prevent the looming antibiotic threat.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Risk Perceptions of Antibiotic Usage and Resistance: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Poultry Farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria

2020

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“…These steps are recognized as critical in AMR strategies of the FAO [2], OIE [1], and the WHO-led Global Action Plan for AMR, which includes the objective to "Establish antimicrobial resistance as a core component of professional education, training, certification, and development for the health and veterinary sectors and agricultural practice" [3]. Importantly, this training should not only be targeted at veterinarians but also to other actors, including agrovets and feed distributors, which studies show are common sources of advice on antimicrobials [22,25]. Further support for this training comes from a survey of agrovets in Africa and Asia, which found that knowledge of AMR did not translate into prudent use (e.g., reduced dispensing) but was actually linked to less prudent practices (e.g., use of critically important antibiotics) [24].…”

Section: Future Work and Study Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impacts of Animal Health Service Providers on Antimicrobial Use Attitudes and Practices: An Examination of Poultry Layer Farmers in Ghana and Kenya

Afakye¹,

Kiambi²,

Koka

et al. 2020

Antibiotics

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International organizations and governments have argued that animal health service providers can play a vital role in limiting antimicrobial resistance by promoting the prudent use of antimicrobials. However, there is little research on the impact of these service providers on prudent use at the farm level, especially in low- and middle-income countries where enforcement of prudent-use regulations is limited. Here, we use a mixed-methods approach to assess how animal health-seeking practices on layer farms in Ghana (n = 110) and Kenya (n = 76) impact self-reported antimicrobial usage, engagement in prudent administration and withdrawal practices and perceptions of antimicrobial resistance. In general, our results show that the frequency of health-seeking across a range of service providers (veterinarians, agrovets, and feed distributors) does not significantly correlate with prudent or non-prudent use practices or the levels of antimicrobials used. Instead, we find that patterns of antimicrobial use are linked to how much farmers invest in biosecurity (e.g., footbaths) and the following vaccination protocols. Our results emphasize that more research is required to understand the interactions between animal health service providers and farmers regarding antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance. Addressing these gaps will be crucial to inform antimicrobial stewardship training, curriculums and, guidelines whose ultimate purpose is to limit the selection and transmission of antimicrobial resistance.

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“…Nevertheless, any kind of regulatory endeavor is still at a primary stage in many of the LMICs (146); only a few could successfully implement such regulations or advisories given the prevailing socio-economic scenario, public administrative constraints, and absence of political commitment/goodwill in these countries. Therefore, emphasis on education, awareness, and training of all stakeholders, particularly the end users, might be more effective in LMICs (147).…”

Section: Implementation Of Government Legislationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Antimicrobial Resistance in Agri-Food Chain and Companion Animals as a Re-emerging Menace in Post-COVID Epoch: Low-and Middle-Income Countries Perspective and Mitigation Strategies

Bandyopadhyay

Samanta

2020

Front. Vet. Sci.

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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) leads to enormous financial losses from issues such as high morbidity, mortality, man-days lost, hospital length of stay, health-care, and social costs. In humans, over prescription of antimicrobials, which is presumably higher during COVID, has been identified as the major source of selection for antimicrobial resistant bacteria; however, use of antimicrobials in food and companion animals, fish, and vegetables, and the environmental resistance gene pool, also play important roles. The possibilities of unnecessary use of antibiotics as prophylaxis during and after COVID in livestock and companion animals exist in low-and middle-income countries. A considerable loss in gross domestic product (GDP) is also projected in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) due to AMR by the year 2050, which is further going to be reduced due to economic slowdown in the post-COVID period. Veterinary hospitals dedicated to pets have cropped up, especially in urban areas of LMICs where use of antimicrobials has also been increased substantially. The inevitable preventive habit built up during COVID with the frequent use of hand sanitizer might trigger AMR due to the presence of cross-resistance with disinfectants. In LMICs, due to the rising demand for animal protein, industrial food animal production (IFAP) is slowly replacing the small-scale backyard farming system. The lack of stringent regulations and monitoring increased the non-therapeutic use of antimicrobials in industrial farms where the persistence of antimicrobial resistant bacteria has been associated with several factors other than antimicrobial use, such as co-resistance, cross-resistance, bacterial fitness, mixing of new and old animals, and vectors or reservoirs of bacterial infection. The present review describes types of antimicrobials used in agri-food chains and companion animals in LMICs with identification of the gap in data, updated categories of prevalent antimicrobial resistant bacteria, the role of animal farms as reservoirs of resistant bacteria, and mitigation strategies, with a special focus on the pivotal strategy needed in the post-COVID period.

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Towards a bottom-up understanding of antimicrobial use and resistance on the farm: A knowledge, attitudes, and practices survey across livestock systems in five African countries

Cited by 103 publications

References 45 publications

Risk Perceptions of Antibiotic Usage and Resistance: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Poultry Farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria

Risk Perceptions of Antibiotic Usage and Resistance: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Poultry Farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria

The Impacts of Animal Health Service Providers on Antimicrobial Use Attitudes and Practices: An Examination of Poultry Layer Farmers in Ghana and Kenya

Antimicrobial Resistance in Agri-Food Chain and Companion Animals as a Re-emerging Menace in Post-COVID Epoch: Low-and Middle-Income Countries Perspective and Mitigation Strategies

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