Antimicrobial Resistance in Food Animals and the Environment in Nigeria: A Review

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has emerged as a global health threat, which has elicited a high-level political declaration at the United Nations General Assembly, 2016. In response, member countries agreed to pay greater attention to the surveillance and implementation of antimicrobial stewardship. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control called for a review of AMR in Nigeria using a “One Health approach”. As anecdotal evidence suggests that food animal health and production rely heavily on antimicrobials, it becomes imperative to understand AMR trends in food animals and the environment. We reviewed previous studies to curate data and evaluate the contributions of food animals and the environment (2000–2016) to the AMR burden in Nigeria using a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) flowchart focused on three areas: Antimicrobial resistance, residues, and antiseptics studies. Only one of the 48 antimicrobial studies did not report multidrug resistance. At least 18 bacterial spp. were found to be resistant to various locally available antimicrobials. All 16 residue studies reported high levels of drug residues either in the form of prevalence or concentration above the recommended international limit. Fourteen different “resistotypes” were found in some commonly used antiseptics. High levels of residues and AMR were found in food animals destined for the human food chain. High levels of residues and antimicrobials discharged into environments sustain the AMR pool. These had evolved into potential public health challenges that need attention. These findings constitute public health threats for Nigeria’s teeming population and require attention.

Antimicrobial use and resistance in food-producing animals and the environment: an African perspective

“…A few studies compared AMR genes in humans, animals and environment and detected bla CTX-M , bla TEM , bla SHV, bla OXA, aac(6′)-Ib-cr, tet(A), tet(B), sul1, sul2, and qnr in all the three compartments [64][65][66][67] This finding seems to suggest that these MDR pathogens have high propensity to spread widely and cause infections that are difficult treat [18,68,88]. Due to limited laboratory capacity in most of the countries the identified AMR genes could just be a tip of iceberg, representing only a fraction of transmitted genes.…”

“…Despite these facts, there is paucity of consolidated information on the antimicrobial use (AMU), antimicrobial resistance (AMR), surveillance and stewardship programmes in Africa. The few available reviews on antimicrobial use and resistance are mostly country specific [18,19]. This study reviewed the use of antimicrobial agents, prevalence of antimicrobial resistance and status of surveillance systems in food-producing animals and the environment in Africa.…”

Prevalence of Multidrug Resistance Non-Typhoidal Salmonellae Isolated from Layer Farms and Humans in Egypt.

“…Salmonellosis can be transmitted through the food chain, especially poultry products in the absence of proper hygiene and infection control practices (Ifeanyichukwu et al, 2016;Ramatla et al, 2019). Contaminated feces excreted into the environment could be a source of the bacteria to naive hosts, sustaining its existence over the layer farm environment, therefore, feces played an important role in Salmonella dispersal (Carrique-Mas and Davies 2008;Oloso et al, 2018). The present research assessed the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility profile of Salmonella serovars (S. Typhimurium, S. Enteritidis, and S. Gallinarum) isolated from the cloacal samples, eggshell, hand swab and stool samples of workers.…”

“…Among these, chicken meat and eggs are the kinds of food that regularly cause salmonellosis (Jackson et al, 2013;Middleton et al, 2014;Phagoo and Neetoo, 2015). Therefore, the food chain, especially poultry-derived foods, can be considered as a major public health issue; if they serve as a route for the advent and dispersion of resistant bacteria including Salmonella species in the environment (Mossie and Dires, 2016;Oloso et al, 2018;Ramatla, et al, 2019).…”

Knowledge of Antimicrobial Resistance among Veterinary Students and Their Personal Antibiotic Use Practices: A National Cross-Sectional Survey

“…Hence, resource allocations available to combat AMR in Nigeria have wide discrepancies with consequences of threatened food security in addition to an increased AMR challenge. There is a need to understand the current knowledge and propose means to bridge the existing gap on the trend, status, and situation of AMR arising primarily from food animals and the environment [8,9].…”