TITLE:
Antimicrobial Use in Commercial Poultry Production Systems in Kiambu County, Kenya: A Cross-Sectional Survey on Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices
AUTHORS:
James G. Ndukui, Joseph K. Gikunju, Gabriel O. Aboge, James M. Mbaria
KEYWORDS:
Antimicrobial Use, Antimicrobial Resistance, KAPs, Commercial Poultry Production, Multidrug Resistance
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Animal Sciences,
Vol.11 No.4,
October
12,
2021
ABSTRACT: Background: Antibiotic resistance is
putting the commercial poultry production systems across the globe at risk of
losses due to the failure of treatments for animals and human health which has
been associated with overuse and misuse of antibiotics in poultry farming. One
possible approach to the resistance problem is ensuring adequate knowledge, attitudes,
and practices on antimicrobial use by farmers on commercial production systems
across the globe are applied. Therefore, the current study was carried out to
determine factors that could promote antimicrobial use in commercial poultry
production systems of Kiambu County, Kenya. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted on
commercial poultry production systems of Kiambu County to determine the level
of knowledge, attitudes, and practices on antimicrobial use. One hundred and
fifty-six (n = 156) semi-structured questionnaires imprinted in a mobile Open
data kit were administered to capture the level of knowledge, attitudes, and
practices on antimicrobial usage in commercial poultry production systems of
Kiambu County. Results: Out of the 156 commercial
poultry farmers who participated in this study, females accounted for (64%)
with 51% of them keeping layers between 50 - 500 birds as medium scale farmers.
In the study, most
of the farmers were 45 years and above (61%) and they had obtained a secondary
level of education (34%). We further noted that 67% of the farmers obtain
antibiotics through self-prescription/personal experience. Additional lack of
veterinary officers (77%) and consultation services (72%) was also mentioned as key challenges in poultry
production. The majority of the respondents (63%), indicated Tetracycline as
the most commonly used antibiotic in their farms, with the most preferred
subtypes of tetracycline and Amoxicillin being Oxytetracyclines (85%) and Amoxi
(88%) respectively. Nearness to veterinary services significantly (P Conclusion: Generally, the level of knowledge and practice on antibiotic use among
commercial poultry farmers in Kiambu County is still lacking. This was witnessed with continued use of antibiotics without a prescription
from veterinary/livestock extension offices, which is inconsistent with
the general recommendation on antimicrobial stewardship. Therefore, the current
research calls for intervention measures such as extensive education to farmers
on the rational use of antimicrobial agents
in commercial poultry disease management, observance of withdrawal periods, and the impacts of residues on public
health.