Efforts to reduce antimicrobial use in poultry in
low- and middle-income countries
Arshnee Moodley
Webinar for the launch of the ReAct biosecurity toolkit for poultry
18 June 2021

ILRI: Better lives through livestock!
Reduce
poverty
Improve
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nutrition
security
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change, enhancing
resilience and increasing
livestock productivity
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Systems
Delivering solutions for
livestock, zoonotic and
foodborne diseases
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production driving
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employment
Policies, Institutions &
Livelihoods
Improving genetics for
better productivity and
profitability
Livestock Genetics
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improved animal
productivity
Feed and Forage
Development

CGIAR AMR Hub mitigating agricultural associated AMR risks
www.amr.cgiar.org

Fundamentals of reducing AMU and spread of AMR
Reduce use
• AMU surveillance
• Ban/restrictions
• Education-Awareness
compaigns
• Evidence based treatment
decisions (diagnostics)
• Treatment guidelines
• Vaccines use
• Limiting profit of prescribers
• Differential taxation
Reduce transmission
• AMR surveillance
• Biosecurity
• Hygiene/decontamination

Fundamentals of reducing AMU and spread of AMR
Reduce use
• AMU surveillance
• Ban/restriction of specific
antimicrobials
• Education-Awareness compaigns
• Evidence based treatment decisions
• Treatment guidelines
• Vaccines use
• Limiting profit of prescribers
Reduce transmission
• AMR surveillance
• Biosecurity
• Hygiene/decontamination
Challenges in LMICs
No
financial
subsidies
Poor
quality
inputs
Poor
vaccine
uptake
Corruption
Low trust
in
authority

Kenya
• 40% live below the poverty line
• Livestock accounts for 4.4% of
the GDP
• Employs 50% of the agricultural
labour force

Interventions need to be context relevant
Market oriented, properly fed, vaccinated,
exotic breeds (imported), Urban cities
Country wide, scavenger, free-range,
limit biosecurity, little vaccination
country wide, low input,
free-range, indigenous
breeds, rarely vaccinate

Value chain mapping: stakeholder and risk identification
Onono JO et al., 2018
Production challenges:
- poor feed quality
- lack of space for expansion
- financial insecurity
- High burden of diseases
- lack of information on
poultry management

BuildUganda: Poultry value chain
Soroti
Wakiso

KAP survey amongst farmers
73% had little
knowledge
about AMR
60% didn’t
know know that
AMR could be
transmitted
65% didn’t think
good biosecurity
measures, hygiene
and vaccinations
could reduce AMR
65% farmers in
Wakiso felt that
the Government
is to blame for
AMR issues
81% believed it was
OK to use expired
drugs and it did not
contribute to AMR
https://hdl.handle.net/10568/107443

KAP survey amongst agrovets
11% had no
previous
training about
poultry
58% did not
have any AMR
training
In Soroti, 91%,
did not believe
that good
biosecurity,
hygiene and
vaccinations
could reduce
infections in
poultry
81% believed
that the
Government is to
blame for AMR
In Wakiso, 81%
believed that
AMR is not
associated with
poor
prescription
practices
42% thought
vaccinations
does not
reduce AMR

2021
5/7 commonly used are
combination of antibiotics
and multivitamins
44-69% of farmers
reporting using the
two combinations
Manufacturer’s indication label
“stimulates egg production,
increases growth, improves feed
conversion”

Newcastle disease vaccination challenges
• Low coverage in rural areas
• High vaccine failures in both urban and rural areas
• Farmers don’t follow vaccination schedules
• Failure to maintain a cold chain by dealers and
distributers
• Farmers vaccinate for themselves
• reconstitute issues
• cold chain compromised
• Agrovet reconstitute the vaccines and sell in small
doses
• Cold chain transport
• Long storage (>24hrs)

We can’t regulate our way to reducing AMU
Regulation is needed but it’s not enough
Kenya: prescription only
Reality: OTCs without prescriptions
Kenya: Agrovets are registered with the KVB
Reality: Unqualified staff to dispense drugs
and advice
No cost-effective alternatives
Poor quality feed
Corruption and low trust in government
Limited resources to enforce regulations
Policy gaps- informal sector is neglected
We can’t train our way to reducing AMU and
AMR: Capacity building is useful if incentives are
in place
Training not just about knowledge transfer
To improve or change behaviour coupled
with incentives
Market driven change: consumers don’t
have economic power

New project: Exploring the use of behavioural science intervention
‘nudges’ to address AMU
Approach
• Vision of perfect workshop: identify the target and
the desired change
• Persona Deep Dive Clinic: embed in local
communities, spending time with target stakeholders
to uncover the right behavioural triggers
• Ideation and co-creation: co-create of solutions and
rapid-test prototypes
• Behavioural trial

Policy challenges in LMICs
• Low political commitment
• Little awareness of the issue
• Weak engagement of all
stakeholders
• Limited capacity and resources to
implement policies
• Absence of national surveillance
• Kenya: $ 2.64M ($ 0.3M animal sector)
• India: $ 45M ($ 0.25M animal sector)
• Denmark: $ 149M ($ 36M-animal sector)

Global initiatives

Mitigating agricultural associated AMR risks together!

Zoonotic Salmonella Production associated Salmonella
Bacteriophage as alternative to
antibiotics and reduction of non-
typhoidal Salmonella in poultry
farms funded by IDRC
Salmonella antigens in a
bacteriophage-based vaccine in
poultry funded by IVVN
Current Salmonella vaccines for poultry:
 Live attenuated
Displaying these antigens as part of a vectored vaccine
Angela Makumi
Nicholas Svitek

THANK YOU