The misuse of antiretrovirals to boost pig and poultry productivity in Uganda and potential implications for public health

Abstract

Background and Aim: Since 2015, local newspapers reported that pig and poultry farmers in Uganda use antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) to promote growth in animals and control diseases. This study was conducted to assess farmers' knowledge, attitude and perceptions about the use of antiretroviral drugs as boosters in pigs and poultry and the possibility of detecting the antiretroviral drugs in meat using available laboratory methods. Materials and Methods: In 2019, a cross-sectional study was conducted in ten districts in Uganda. In 20 focus group discussions with 100 pig and poultry farmers and 70 animal health service providers, we assessed the use of ARV in livestock enterprises. Subsequently, samples of chicken, pigs, and animal feeds were collected from volunteer participants, and screened for residues of saquinavir, lopinavir, nevirapine, and efavirenz using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrophotometer. Results: Participants in all ten districts were predominantly smallholder farmers supplying the local markets. All groups reported the use of ARVs in pigs and broiler birds but not in layer hens. In the absence of good quality feeds, the motivation for feeding ARVs was rapid animal weight gain, as well as the control of animal diseases, for which farmers have no alternative solutions. ARVs were obtained within the community for free, against cash, or in-kind payment. Residues of lopinavir were detected in four, and saquinavir in seven districts, and all three sample matrices. Conclusion: Our study findings confirm anecdotal news reports on ARV use in livestock. While our findings are not generalizable to the whole country, they call for a representative follow-up. As the drugs were detected in tissues destined for human consumption, the potential risk to human health warrants further investigation.

Oxytetracycline residues in bovine muscles, liver and kidney tissues from selected slaughter facilities in South Western Uganda

“…Among the livestock diseases, tick-borne diseases are the most challenging to cattle production systems which accounts for 75.4% of losses in cattle (Byaruhanga et al 2015;Tayebwa et al 2018;Fuente et al 2019). In order to maintain health and productivity in animal production, antibiotics are used for treatment of livestock diseases, as animal feed additives and to promote growth in animals (Ndoboli et al 2019;Nayiga et al 2020).…”

“How Are My Age and Cows Related?” Cognitive Interviewing as a Tool to Pretest Survey Questions in Two Limited Resource Settings

“…The AMUSE tool was developed in 2018 by a team from the livestock health flagship of the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock to investigate the key linkages in the AMR conceptual framework (29). Following a review of different survey tools used in the past, the team drafted the first version of the AMUSE questionnaire, which was launched in several countries in Africa and Asia (30) including Ethiopia (31), Uganda (32,33), and Vietnam (34). As a next step, the questionnaire was developed into a generic tool to assess antimicrobial use in animal production (including livestock, poultry, and fish) to enable comparison between different countries and settings (Supplementary Material).…”

Reflections on Drivers for the Emergence and Spread of Antimicrobial Resistant Bacteria Detected from Chickens reared on Commercial Layer Farms in Mukono District, Uganda

“…With such levels of anxiety in the community, it is not shocking that now stressing reports document the utilization of profoundly critical human medications like antiretrovirals in poultry and other commercial agricultural systems. 3 , 4 …”

“…With such levels of anxiety in the community, it is not shocking that now stressing reports document the utilization of profoundly critical human medications like antiretrovirals in poultry and other commercial agricultural systems. 3,4 Poultry is a possible source of multi-drug resistant (MDR) Escherichia coli with the potential to spread ARB in the environment (through feces) and human populations (via the food chain). 5 Existing data on antibiograms of E. coli isolated from both apparently healthy and sick birds portray high resistance rates to majorly tetracyclines and sulphonamides.…”