Knowledge, Attitudes, and Risk Perception of Broiler Grow-Out Farmers on Antimicrobial Use and Resistance in Oyo State, Nigeria

Nurudeen O Oloso; Ismail A Odetokun; Ibraheem Ghali-Mohammed; Folorunso O Fasina; Isaac Olufemi Olatoye; Victoria O Adetunji

doi:10.3390/antibiotics11050567

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Risk Perception of Broiler Grow-Out Farmers on Antimicrobial Use and Resistance in Oyo State, Nigeria

Antibiotics (Basel). 2022 Apr 24;11(5):567. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics11050567.

Authors

Nurudeen O Oloso¹, Ismail A Odetokun², Ibraheem Ghali-Mohammed², Folorunso O Fasina³, Isaac Olufemi Olatoye⁴, Victoria O Adetunji⁴

Affiliations

¹ Nuafus (Agroveterinary) Ventures, 14 Olalekan Alabi, Abayomi Street, Off Abayomi Bus Stop, Iwo Road, Ibadan 200263, Nigeria.
² Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Ilorin, Ilorin 240272, Nigeria.
³ Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases-Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (ECTAD-FAO), Dar es Salaam 14111, Tanzania & Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa.
⁴ Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan 200284, Nigeria.

Abstract

Assessing knowledge, attitudes, and risk perception of Nigerian broiler grow-out farmers (n = 152) to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) with a five sectional purposive-structured-questionnaire: demographics; knowledge; attitudes; risk-perception; and response to regulation of antimicrobial practices. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square test, and binary logistic regression. Respondents’ knowledge score, in total, was lower than average, with all (100%) respondents having the understanding that antibiotics kill/reduce bacteria, most participants (>73%) believing that feeding antibiotics to broiler chickens is a necessity for weight gain, and many (>69%) thinking that no negative side-effects exist with the use of antibiotics. Poor attitude towards antimicrobial usage was prevalent (>63%) with unsatisfactory performance in most instruments: >60% of farmers reported using antimicrobials every week and still use antimicrobials when birds appear sick, and most (>84%) arbitrarily increase the drug dosages when used. However, a satisfactory performance score was reported (68%) in risk perception of AMR with >63% perceiving that inappropriate use of antibiotics is the main factor causing the emergence of resistant bacteria; >65.8% expressed that AMR in broiler chickens is not essential for public health, that AMR cannot develop from broiler bacteria diseases, that increasing the frequency of antimicrobial use cannot increase AMR in future, and that usage cannot lead to antibiotic residue in broiler-meat products leading to AMR development in human. None of the respondents were aware of any regulation for monitoring antimicrobial use. Significant factors associated with knowledge, attitudes, and risk perception of antimicrobial use and resistance among broiler grow-out farmers include marital status, farm category, education, educational specialization, sales target, growth duration/cycle, broiler stocking batch, and feed source. Identified gaps exist in AMR awareness among Nigerian broiler farmers and should be targeted through stakeholders’ participation in combatting AMR threats.

Keywords: Nigeria; antimicrobial resistance (AMR); antimicrobial use; attitude; broiler grow-out farmers; knowledge; risk perception.