Interventions to change antimicrobial use in livestock: A scoping review and an impact pathway analysis of what works, how, for whom and why.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a public health threat responsible for 700,000 deaths per year worldwide. Antimicrobial use (AMU) in livestock contributes to AMR in animal and public health. Therefore, it is essential to implement effective interventions towards better AMU in livestock. However, there is a lack of evidence to inform decision-makers of what works, how, for whom and why and how effective interventions can be adapted to different contexts. We conducted a scoping review and an impact pathway analysis to systematically map the research done in this area and to inform evidence-based and context-appropriate policies. We followed the PRISMA-ScR requirements and searched Web of Science, PubMed and Scopus databases to identify studies in English or French languages, in open access and published between 2000 and 2022. We selected thirty references addressing twenty-eight different interventions that were successful in changing AMU in livestock. We used an impact pathway logic model as an analytic framework to guide the technical aspects of the scoping review process and to identify the complex relationships between outputs, outcomes, impacts and contextual factors. A majority of interventions managed to improve AMU by changing herd and health management practices (ni=18). We identified intermediate outcomes including change in the veterinarian-farmer relationship (ni=7), in knowledge and perception (ni=6), and in motivation and confidence (ni=1). Twenty-two studies recorded positive impacts on animal health and welfare (ni=11), technical performances (ni=9), economic performances (ni=4) and AMR reduction (ni=4). Interventions implemented different strategies including herd and health management support (ni=20), norms and standards (ni=11), informational and educational measures (ni=10), economic support (ni=5). Studies were mainly in European countries and in pig and large ruminants farming. Most interventions targeted farmers or veterinarians but we identified other major and influential actors including authority and governmental organizations, academics and research, organization of producers or veterinarians, herd advisors and technicians, laboratories, and public opinion. Key success factors were knowledge and perception (ni=14), social factors (ni=13), intervention characteristics (ni=11), trajectory and ecosystem of change (ni=11), economic factors (ni=9), herd and health status (ni=8), data access and monitoring (ni=4). This review describes a paucity of impact assessment of interventions towards better AMU in livestock. There is no one-size-fits-all transition pathway but we inform decision-makers about the most successful interventions that work, how, for whom and why. The impact pathway analysis provided a holistic view of the successful change processes and the complex relationships between outputs, outcomes, impacts and contexts.

A participatory approach for building ex ante impact pathways towards a prudent use of antimicrobials in pig and poultry sectors in France.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global public health threat responsible for 700,000 deaths per year worldwide. There is scientific evidence of the causal relationship between antimicrobial use (AMU) along the food chain and AMR. Improving AMU in livestock is therefore a key component in the fight against AMR. To improve AMU in livestock, there is no one-size-fits-all solution and strategies must be context-adapted and socially acceptable for actors in order to increase AMU sustainability. AMU decision-making is based on an interdependent set of economic, behavioral, ethical, and cultural factors that need to be assessed to advise on the potential impacts of measures. We hypothesized that a participatory strategic planning approach may increase the plausibility and the efficacy of the strategies formulated by facilitating the dialogue between actors of diverse backgrounds, stimulating innovative thinking and constant considerations of contextual factors, actors and impacts. We adapted and applied the ImpresS ex ante approach (IMPact in reSearch in the South, https://impress-impact-recherche.cirad.fr/) within a Living Lab engaging actors from the French pig and poultry sectors in co-creation of innovative strategies towards improved AMU. We conducted semi-structured interviews and participatory workshops between April 2021 and March 2022. The results describe 1) an initial diagnosis of the current AMU situation in the pig and poultry sectors in France; 2) a common vision of the future to which participants would like to contribute through the intervention; 3) an identification of the current problems opposed to this vision of the future; 4) a defined scope of the intervention; 5) a typology of actors protagonist or impacted by those issues and 6) outcome maps to solve a priority problem related to indicators and monitoring. This study provides recommendations for decision-makers on plausible and innovative strategies to sustainably improve AMU in pig and poultry sectors in France and evidence of the benefits of participatory strategic planning approaches.

A participatory epidemiological and One Health approach to explore the community's capacity to detect emerging zoonoses and surveillance network opportunities in the forest region of Guinea.

The Ebola virus disease epidemic that threatened West Africa between 2013 and 2016 was of unprecedented health magnitude. After this health crisis, studies highlighted the need to introduce community-based surveillance systems and to adopt a One Health approach. This study aimed to provide preparatory insights for the definition of a community-based surveillance system for emerging zoonoses such as viral hemorrhagic fevers in Guinea. The objective was to explore the disease detection capacity and the surveillance network opportunities at the community level in two pilot areas in the forest region of Guinea, where the epidemic emerged. Based on a participatory epidemiological and One Health approach, we conducted Focus Group Discussions with human, animal and ecosystem health actors. We used a range of participatory tools, included semi-structured interviews, ranking, scoring and flow diagram, to estimate the local knowledge and perception of diseases and clinical signs and to investigate the existing health information exchange network and its related strengths and weaknesses. The results showed that there is heterogeneity in knowledge of diseases and perception of the clinical signs among actors and that there are preferred and more effective health communication channels opportunities. This preparatory study suggests that it is necessary to adapt the case definitions and the health communication channels to the different actors who can play a role in a future community-based surveillance system and provides recommendations for future surveillance activities to be carried out in West Africa.

Towards a Better Use of Antimicrobials on Farms: Insights from a Participatory Approach in the French Pig and Poultry Sectors.

Despite the strong decrease in antimicrobial use in the French poultry and pig sectors over the last decade, room for improvement remains. A participatory approach was set up in France, involving representatives of veterinarians, the pig and poultry industries, technical institutes, the French Ministry of Agriculture, and researchers, to further improve how antimicrobials are used on farms. By successively defining a shared, long-term vision of future antimicrobial use on farms, identifying lock-in mechanisms impeding this future vision from being realized, and articulating practical questions on how to move in the desired direction, the group rapidly reached a consensus. The results highlight the need for consensual standardized monitoring tools that would allow farmers and veterinarians to jointly monitor the health, welfare, antimicrobial resistance, and antimicrobial use on farms. Other results relate to better communication and training for citizens regarding animal health, animal welfare, and proper antimicrobial use; some benefits but also counterproductive effects of antibiotic-free labels that imperil animal health and welfare; the economic competitiveness of farms on international markets; and the economic sustainability of farm animal veterinary practices. These results call for a concerted way to produce tools for farmers and veterinarians and the broader involvement of other food sector actors.