Quality of veterinary pharmaceuticals and their use by pastoralists in the Far North Region of Cameroon

Abstract

This study evaluates the quality of the veterinary drugs most frequently used in the Far North Region of Cameroon and describes how pastoralists use them to treat their cattle herds. High-performance liquid chromatography was used to identify and quantify the active ingredients in the drugs (penicillin G, levamisole, oxytetracycline, diminazene diaceturate, vitamin A, and vitamin E acetate) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry to determine if organic chemical contaminants were present. The results showed that 69% of surveyed pastoralists used veterinary medicines to treat common illnesses. In addition, the most commonly used medications (procaine penicillin G and oxytetracycline) were used in a manner inconsistent with the recommended dosage, frequency, duration, and withdrawal period by 98% of the pastoralists. However, contrary to previous studies, the quality of the medications used by pastoralists was generally good. The poor compliance with recommended treatment protocols was much more prevalent than use of poor quality medications and presents a potential for treatment failure, drug resistance of animal pathogens, and harmful drug residues in the human food supply, all of which have potentially negative consequences for animal and human health.

Penicillin-G and oxytetracycline residues in beef sold for human consumption in Maroua, Cameroon

“…The proportion of cattle carcasses contaminated with penicillin residues (18.81%) is significantly higher than those contaminated with oxytetracycline residues (1.49%). This confirms the fact that penicillin is used more than oxytetracycline in the Far North region of Cameroon (Vougat et al 2017). This trend was also observed in Nigeria (Ibrahim et al 2009), where the percentage of contamination with penicillin residues was higher.…”

“…This high proportion of contaminated carcasses could be explained by the fact that the majority of farmers in the Far North region do not respect the dosage of the veterinary medicines administered to their animals (Vougat et al 2017). This poses a potential risk for consumers, as contaminated beef can lead to allergies, cancers, embryonic toxicities and even bacterial resistance in consumers (Aliu et al 2001).…”

“…This assumption is based on the results of our previous research (Vougat et al 2017). The choice of a 95% confidence interval and a 10% accuracy enabled us to have a minimum sample size of 61 cattle using the formula below (Thrusfield 2007):…”

“…The presence of veterinary drug residues in foodstuffs of animal origin may jeopardize international trade following the World Trade Organization's agreements on the application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures establishing the globalization of markets (Chillaud 1996). This was all the most necessary in the case of Cameroon where the previous studies highlighted the extensive misuse of veterinary medicines in beef production areas (Vougat et al 2017). The main causes of antibiotics residues in animal products have been attribute to the misuse of drugs (Donkor et al 2011;Bousova et al 2013).…”

“…In this region, pastoralists generally treat their animal's using drug without following the recommended dosage, frequency, duration, and withdrawal period. The most commonly used medications by these herders are procaine penicillin G and oxytetracycline (Vougat et al 2017).…”