Understanding Antimicrobial Use Contexts in the Poultry Sector: Challenges for Small-Scale Layer Farms in Kenya

Abstract

The poultry sector contributes significantly to Kenya’s food and economic security. This contribution is expected to rise dramatically with a growing population, urbanization, and preferences for animal-source foods. Antimicrobial resistance is putting the poultry sector in Kenya—and worldwide—at risk of production losses due to the failure of medicines for animal (and human) health. The emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance has been linked to overuse and misuse of antimicrobials in poultry and other sectors. Previous studies have documented poultry farmer antimicrobial use but without systematic consideration of the contexts (i.e., drivers) as important targets for behavior change, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. To improve understanding of antimicrobial use patterns in poultry systems, we conducted a mixed-methods knowledge, attitudes, and practices study of 76 layer farms in Kiambu County; Kenya. We found that commonly used antibiotics were often labeled for prophylactic, growth promotion, and egg production improvement purposes. Antimicrobial use was also motivated by the presence of diseases/disease symptoms, most of which could instead be managed through infection prevention measures. The results suggest that improving vaccination and biosecurity practices on farms and engaging with drug-makers to ensure proper labeling and marketing of antimicrobial drugs may represent important areas of opportunity for social behavior change communication and/or behavioral science interventions (i.e., nudges) to reduce disease burdens and promote prudent antimicrobial use. We conclude our findings with suggestions for further research into the behavioral insights at play in these scenarios to fuel future intervention development.

Antimicrobial Use in Animals in Timor-Leste Based on Veterinary Antimicrobial Imports between 2016 and 2019

“…The common antimicrobial classes in Timor-Leste (tetracycline, penicillin, and macrolide) are consistent with global and regional (Asia, Far East, and Oceania) usage patterns [29]. The most imported antimicrobials in Timor-Leste (oxytetracycline, amoxicillin, tylosin, and dihydrostreptomycin) were consistent with antimicrobials used in poultry and pig production in developing countries in Asia and Africa [18,50,58,59]. Oxytetracycline is popular because of its broad-spectrum action, low cost, and availability in long-acting formulations [60,61] and it is likely that similar reasons underpin its popularity in Timor-Leste.…”

“…It would be interesting to compare the results from Timor-Leste to other countries with a similar agriculture background but similar studies from such countries could not be found [10]. Although antimicrobial use levels are currently low, use may increase in the future with farming intensification, as seen in other developing countries [49,50]. In this study, there is already evidence of increasing use in the broiler industry, with import levels rising by 119% between 2018 and 2019.…”

“…Oxytetracycline is popular because of its broad-spectrum action, low cost, and availability in long-acting formulations [60,61] and it is likely that similar reasons underpin its popularity in Timor-Leste. Amoxicillin and tylosin were imported almost exclusively in oral formulation by commercial poultry farms, and the popularity of these antimicrobials in small scale poultry farms were also reported in other studies in other countries [50,62]. Dihydrostreptomycin was commonly imported in formulations with benzylpenicillin by MAF due to the combination's broad-spectrum action across a wide range of livestock species.…”

Antimicrobial Usage in Smallholder Poultry Production in Nigeria

“…Our findings show that the behavioural tendency of farmers towards using antimicrobials is driven by the onset of any sign of illness in the birds, even though most of the farmers have not received any formal training on the identification of diseases and animal health management. This behaviour may explain the observed high percentage of farmers who indulge in self-prescription based on self-diagnosis, consequently risking an incorrect diagnosis and wrong use of antimicrobial drugs [ 44 ].…”

Antimicrobial resistance profiles of E. coli isolated from pooled samples of Sick, Farm and Market chickens in Nairobi County, Kenya

“…Antimicrobials are commonly purchased deprived of instructions, exposing incorrect practice or purschasing the wrong drug which is self-administered by un-professional i.e. farmers(Kiambi et al, 2021).The situation is made worse since human doctors and veterinarians tend to use antimicrobials to cover themselves in case of wrong diagnosis or as a the sky-rocketing levels of antimicrobial resistance experienced today. Most farmers practice mixed animal-raising; that is: they keep many types of animals; there is also close relationship between humans/farmers and their animals; so, resistant bacteria can easily be transferred across the animals and to/from humans.Eighty-one point ve percent (81.5%; 44/54) of the E. coli isolates, in this study, showed multidrug resistance; Ten (22.7%) of the multi-drug-resistant isolates were resistant to 2 antimicrobials; 15 (34.1%) were resistant to 3 antimicrobials; 8 (18.2%) to 4, while 5 (11.4%) each were resistant to 5 and 6 antimicrobials, respectively (Fig.2).…”