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.

Systematic review of products with potential application for use in the control of Campylobacter spp. in organic and free-range broilers.

Campylobacter spp. are some of the most important food-borne zoonoses in Europe and broiler meat is considered the main source of Campylobacter infections. Organic and free-range broilers have access to outdoor reservoirs of Campylobacter and are more frequently infected at slaughter than the conventional broiler flocks. Limitations to biosecurity and treatment options in these production types calls for additional solutions. This review examines intervention methods with sufficient strength and quality, which are able to reduce the load of Campylobacter safely and efficiently and discuss their applicability in organic and free-range broiler production. Four different products passed the inclusion criteria and their quality examined: ferric tyrosine chelate, a prebiotic fermentation product of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, short-chain fatty acid butyrate coated on microbeads added to feed, and a mix of organic acids added to the drinking water. Though potential candidates for reducing Campylobacter in broilers were identified, there is a lack of large scale intervention studies that demonstrate an effect under field conditions of a free-range broiler production.

Prevalence and risk factors for faecal carriage of multidrug resistant Escherichia coli among slaughterhouse workers.

The increasing occurrence of antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli in human and animal population has become a global public health problem that requires immediate intervention. We aimed to investigate prevalence and risk factors for faecal carriage of drug-resistant E. coli among slaughterhouse workers. We conducted this cross-sectional study among 118 apparently healthy workers in the largest slaughterhouses in Abuja and Lagos from July to December 2020. E. coli was isolated from stool samples of slaughterhouse workers and antimicrobial susceptibility testing performed using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Multi-drug resistance (MDR) was defined as resistance to three or more classes of antibiotics. Majority were males: 88.1% (n = 104), aged > 41 years: 28.8% (n = 34), married: 70.3% (n = 83), and were butchers: 53.4% (n = 63). Prevalence of MDR E. coli was 50% (n = 59), highest among butchers compared to slaughterhouse cleaners. Of 75 E. coli isolates identified, 25.3% (n = 19) were ESBL producers; 78.7% (n = 59) were MDR. Keeping animals (p = 0.01); eating at the slaughterhouse (p = 0.03) and collecting waste (p = 0.02) remained independent risk factors for acquiring MDR E. coli. Prevalence of resistant E. coli was highest among butchers and associated with keeping animals at home, eating at work, and waste-collection. Hand-hygiene and responsible use of antibiotics among slaughterhouse workers should be encouraged.