Original Source

Antibiotic Use in Chicken Farms in Northwestern China

Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control

Volume: 9: 10

1/7/2020

Xu, J., Sangthong, R., McNeil, E., Tang, R. & Chongsuvivatwong, V.

52

Yes

From the source: "This study is part of the first author’s thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Ph.D. at Prince of Songkla University, Thailand, and the China Medical Board under the project of “A Second Collaborative Program to Improve the Health Research Capacity of Western Medical Universities in China and Prince of Songkla University (PSU).” This study is also funded by Top Discipline of Public Health and Prevent Medicine (NXYLXK2017A07), Education Department of Ningxia, China."

From the source: "The authors declare that they have no competing interests."
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Summary

This study provides an understanding of antimicrobial use by a section of Chinese poultry farmers. It found that 75% of the 88 sampled farmers use prohibited antibiotics, despite the stringent regulatory measures put in place by the Chinese government. Low income and education tended to account for an increase in antibiotic misuse among farmers. A strength of this study was an attempt to reduce sampling bias by randomly selecting farms from those that qualified for the study. A limitation noted by the authors is that farmers may have underreported some practices that violated national regulations. According to the authors, this study suggests that a multifaceted approach is needed to reduce antibiotic misuse on these farms, including enforcing national regulations, and training/education on antibiotic use for farmers, veterinarians, and pharmacists.

Background
Misuse of antibiotics in food animals contributes to an increase of antibiotic resistant bacteria transmitting to humans. China is the largest producer and user of antibiotics in the world, of which animals share more than half of the total consumption. This study aimed to explore Chinese farmer’s practice of antibiotic use and the factors associated with their use.

Methods
In this cross-sectional survey, we interviewed farmers from 88 chicken farms in northwestern China. We defined two kinds of misuse: 1) using antibiotics in the Chinese prohibited list, and 2) using antibiotics within the recommended withdrawal period. Factor analysis was used to select farmers’ knowledge variables and multinomial logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with antibiotic misuse.

Results
All the participating farmers used antibiotics on their farms. Amoxicillin was the most common antibiotic used (76.5%), followed by norfloxacin, ofloxacin, ceftriaxone and oxytetracycline. 75% of farmers used antibiotics in the prohibited list while 14.8% continued to use antibiotics during the withdrawal period. Hierarchical cluster analysis revealed three patterns of antibiotic use: 1) excessive use of non-prohibited and prohibited antibiotics or an excessive user, 2) low use of a few types of non-prohibited and moderate use of prohibited antibiotics or a low user, 3) multiple use of a variety (≥ 7 types) of non-prohibited and prohibited antibiotics or a moderate user. Farmers from medium size, family-based farms, those with a low education level and low income were more likely to misuse antibiotics. Prior formal agricultural training was associated with reducing multiple types of antibiotic use. There was a huge gap between policy and reinforcement causing antibiotic misuse in the study community.

Conclusion
Antibiotics are commonly used on chicken farms; misuse of antibiotics is high; improvement in farm sanitation, education on antibiotic use for farmers and veterinarians/pharmacists and enforcement of the regulations may reduce antibiotic use on chicken farms in China.