Risk Perceptions of Antibiotic Usage and Resistance: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Poultry Farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria

Ahmad I Al-Mustapha; Victoria O Adetunji; Annamari Heikinheimo

doi:10.3390/antibiotics9070378

Risk Perceptions of Antibiotic Usage and Resistance: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Poultry Farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria

Antibiotics (Basel). 2020 Jul 4;9(7):378. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics9070378.

Authors

Ahmad I Al-Mustapha^{1

2

3}, Victoria O Adetunji², Annamari Heikinheimo^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Veterinary Services, Kwara State Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ilorin 240213, Kwara State, Nigeria.
² Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan 200284, Oyo State, Nigeria.
³ Department of Food Hygiene and Environmental Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, 00710 Helsinki, Finland.
⁴ Finnish Food Authority, 00790 Seinäjoki, Finland.

Abstract

Overwhelming empirical evidence has highlighted the contribution of indiscriminate antibiotic usage (ABU) in food animals to the overall burden of antibiotic resistance (ABR) in humans, thus making antibiotic use the main selective pressure driving antibiotic resistance. The social and behavioral perspective on antibiotic use and resistance in poultry is limited. Our study therefore aimed at obtaining information on antibiotic usage, awareness of ABR, and the attitude and perceptions towards prudent antibiotic usage and ABR. A cross-sectional survey using a structured questionnaire was conducted in 125 poultry farms in Kwara state in December 2019. Most farmers (69.6%, n = 87/125) were aware of ABR and had satisfactory knowledge about ABR with a mean knowledge score of 3.2 ± 1.5. Age (older farmers; OR: 1.1, 95% CI: 1.0, 1.2) and gender (male respondents, OR: 8.5, 95% CI: 3.0, 23.9; p < 0.01) were more likely to have satisfactory knowledge of ABR. Tertiary education was significantly associated with ABR awareness (OR: 4.7; 95% CI: 0.1, 0.7; p = 0.007) and the ABR knowledge level (OR: 7.8; 95% CI: 3.3, 18.7; p < 0.01). Higher flock size was significantly associated with a satisfactory knowledge of ABR (OR: 9.5; 95% CI: 3.8, 23.6; p < 0.01). Most of the poultry farmers (68%) had positive attitudes towards prudent antibiotic use with a mean score of 2.7 ± 0.9. On the contrary, only 32.8% of poultry farmers had a desirable perception of ABR with a mean perception score of 4.9 ± 1.1. The ABR knowledge level was significantly associated with the perceptions of farmers (p < 0.05) but not their attitudes toward ABU and ABR (p = 0.083). There was evidence of unprescribed use of antibiotics in poultry and a failure to observe antibiotic withdrawal periods. These constitute a risk of exposure to unacceptable levels of drug residues from poultry products and an increased risk of ABR. Improving education and communication on antibiotic stewardship programs are crucial to prevent the looming antibiotic threat.

Keywords: KAP; Kwara; Nigeria; antibiotic resistance; antibiotic usage; poultry.