Determination of antimicrobial use in commercial poultry farms in Plateau and Oyo States, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Indiscriminate use of antimicrobials for the prevention and treatment of bacterial infection in animals is a common practice in Nigeria as in other developing countries. These antimicrobials are purchased over the counter without restrictions and often administered in form of medicated feedstuffs. In Nigeria, like most developing countries, antimicrobial prescription data are not routinely collected or reported at the farm level, instead import data are used in reporting antimicrobial consumption. Farmers can be useful sources of data on the use of antimicrobial agents by class, animal species, production type and age. The objective of the study was to determine the knowledge, attitude and practices of poultry farmers on antimicrobial resistance and to generate data on antimicrobial use (AMU) in poultry farms in Plateau and Oyo states in accordance with the guidelines of the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH). METHODS: A questionnaire used by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in Ghana was adopted and modified to collect data on the knowledge, attitude and practices of farmers on AMR and AMU and to collect AMU data from selected poultry farms. A focus group discussion (FGD) was conducted in Plateau state with poultry farmers and representatives from the state veterinary services, using a checklist. The aim of the FGD was to have an idea on antimicrobial use among poultry farmers and to generate additional questions that might be added to the questionnaire. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select 50 farms from Plateau and Oyo states, using the list of registered poultry farms in the two states as sampling frame. RESULTS: Ninety eight percent (98%) of farmers gave antibiotics as prophylactic treatment to day old chicks. There were 47 different products used in the two states within the study period. We observed that five classes of antibiotics (Tetracyclines, Penicillins, Aminoglycosides, Polypeptides and Fluoroquinolone) were used in the two states. A total of 351 kg of active ingredients from seven different classes, namely: tetracyclines, penicillins, aminoglycosides, polypeptide, fluoroquinolones, amphenicol and macrolides were recorded from the two states. Some products contained cocktail of antibiotics, having up to six different classes with very high concentration of active ingredients which are not in the list of registered antimicrobials reported to WOAH. CONCLUSION: The concept used for this survey proved that the approach can be applied for AMU surveillance in the animal health sector. It also provided insight on farmers' knowledge and practices with regards to the use of antimicrobials which is missing in the national import data. The need for "stronger" antibiotics was identified as one of the drivers of antibiotic resistance.

Guidance on the requirements for the development of microbiological criteria.

The European Food Safety Authority asked the Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ) to deliver a scientific opinion providing: (i) a review of the approaches used by the BIOHAZ Panel to address requests from risk managers to suggest the establishment of microbiological criteria; (ii) guidance on the required scientific evidence, data and methods/tools necessary for considering the development of microbiological criteria for pathogenic microorganisms and indicator microorganisms; (iii) recommendations on methods/tools to design microbiological criteria and (iv) guidelines for the requirements and tasks of risk assessors, compared to risk managers, in relation to microbiological criteria. This document provides guidance on approaches when: (i) a quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) is available, (ii) prevalence and concentration data are available, but not a QMRA model, and (iii) neither a QMRA nor prevalence and/or concentration data are available. The role of risk assessors should be focused on assessing the impact of different microbiological criteria on public health and on product compliance. It is the task of the risk managers to: (1) formulate unambiguous questions, preferably in consultation with risk assessors, (2) decide on the establishment of a microbiological criterion, or target in primary production sectors, and to formulate the specific intended purpose for using such criteria, (3) consider the uncertainties in impact assessments on public health and on product compliance and (4) decide the point in the food chain where the microbiological criteria are intended to be applied and decide on the actions which should be taken in case of non-compliance. It is the task of the risk assessors to support risk managers to ensure that questions are formulated in a way that a precise answer can be given, if sufficient information is available, and to ensure clear and unambiguous answers, including the assessment of uncertainties, based on available scientific evidence.

Whole-genome Sequencing Used to Investigate a Nationwide Outbreak of Listeriosis Caused by Ready-to-eat Delicatessen Meat, Denmark, 2014.

BACKGROUND: Listeriosis is a serious foodborne infection. Outbreaks of listeriosis occur rarely, but have often proved difficult to solve. In June 2014, we detected and investigated a listeriosis outbreak in Denmark using patient interviews and whole-genome sequencing (WGS). METHODS: We performed WGS on Listeria monocytogenes isolates from patients and available isolates from ready-to-eat foods and compared them using single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis. Case patients had L. monocytogenes with ≤3 SNPs (the outbreak strain) isolated in September 2013-December 2014. Through interviews, we established case patients' food and clinical histories. Food production facilities were inspected and sampled, and we performed trace-back/trace-forward of food delivery chains. RESULTS: In total, 41 cases were identified; 17 deaths occurred (41%). An isolate from a delicatessen meat (spiced meat roll) from company A was identical to the outbreak strain. Half of the patients were infected while hospitalized/institutionalized; institutions were supplied food by company A. The outbreak strain was repeatedly isolated from further samples taken within this company and within companies in its distribution chain. Products from company A were traced and recalled from >6000 food establishments, after which the outbreak ended. CONCLUSIONS: Ready-to-eat spiced meat roll from a single production facility caused this outbreak. The product, served sliced and cold, is popular among the elderly; serving it at hospitals probably contributed to the high case-fatality rate. WGS used for patient isolates and isolates from food control inspections, coupled with routine epidemiological follow-up, was instrumental in swiftly locating the source of infections, preventing further illnesses and deaths.