Improvement in the Surveillance System for Livestock Diseases and Antimicrobial Use Following Operational Research Studies in Sierra Leone January-March 2023.

In Sierra Leone, two operational research (OR) studies in 2019 and 2021 showed deficiencies in the data being captured by the Integrated Animal Disease Surveillance and Reporting (IADSR) system. This third OR study was conducted in 2023 to assess whether the second OR study's results and recommendations were disseminated with the key stakeholders, the uptake of the recommendations, improvements in data capture in the IADSR system, and to describe the data on livestock disease and antimicrobial use. In 2022, on seven occasions, the authors of the second OR study disseminated the study's findings. Of the four recommendations, the one on improving laboratory infrastructure for confirmation of animal disease was not implemented. The district animal health weekly surveillance reports received through the IADSR system were sustained at 88% between the second (2021) and third (2023) studies. In both studies, the proportion of sick animals receiving antibiotics (25%) remained the same, but the use of "critically important antimicrobials for veterinary use" declined from 77% (in 2021) to 69% (in 2023). The IADSR system has improved considerably in providing information on animal health and antibiotic use, and sequential OR studies have played a key role in its improvement.

An Update on the Surveillance of Livestock Diseases and Antimicrobial Use in Sierra Leone in 2021-An Operational Research Study.

In Sierra Leone, in 2020, a study by the Livestock and Veterinary Services Division (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry) on the surveillance system of animal diseases and antimicrobial use found poor reporting. Of the expected weekly districts reports, <1% were received and only three of the 15 districts had submitted reports occasionally between 2016 and 2019. Following this, staff-capacity-building on reporting was undertaken. In 2021, we reassessed the improvement in reporting and used the reports to describe livestock diseases and antimicrobials utilized in their treatment. Between March and October 2021, 88% of expected weekly reports from all 15 districts were received. There were minor deficiencies in completeness and consistency in the terminology used for reporting animal disease and antimicrobials. Available reports showed that 25% of the livestock had an infectious disease, and a quarter of the sick animals had received an antimicrobial drug. Most animals received antimicrobials belonging to World Organization for Animal Health's "veterinary critically important" category (77%) and World Health Organization's "critically" (17%) and "highly important" (60%) categories for human health. These indicate a significant improvement in the animal health surveillance system and highlight the need for enhanced antimicrobial stewardship to prevent misuse of antimicrobials that are significant in animal and human health.

Veterinary Healthcare Provision and Quality of Reported Data on Antimicrobial Use in the Treatment of Livestock in Sierra Leone, 2016-2019.

Antimicrobials help in the prevention and treatment of infections and are crucial for animal production, but overuse can result in antimicrobial resistance. Hence, understanding data quality on livestock antimicrobial use is essential. We assessed frequency of reporting, completeness, and concordance of reported data and availability of human resources and infrastructure in 14 districts in Sierra Leone. This was a cross-sectional study involving a review of district and sub-district animal treatment forms submitted from January 2016 to August 2019. Out of the 14 districts, only 3 had filled forms available for review: A total of 6 (0.97% of 616 expected) district forms and 79 (1.15% of 6840 expected) sub-district forms. Data between district and sub-district treatment forms were fully discordant. Hence, completeness of data could not be assessed. All districts had livestock officers (barring one) and livestock assistants but no veterinarians. The gap in community animal health workers ranged from 14 to 100% per district. No districts had a functional computer or internet access. Reporting was non-existent in 11 districts and poor in the other 3. Resources are urgently needed to address critical gaps in human resources and capacity and computer and Internet connectivity to develop critical One Health surveillance functions at the national and sub-national levels.