Antimicrobial Use Surveillance Indicators for Finfish Aquaculture Production: A Review

Aquaculture requires special consideration in National Action Plans for Antimicrobial Resistance

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) demands collective action to reduce and mitigate its threats. The Quadripartite collaboration of the World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) has led development and implementation of National Action Plans (NAPs) that describe approaches each country will take to tackle AMR. All antimicrobial users and sectors should be included, and the Quadripartite encourages a One Health approach. Aquaculture has received mixed coverage in NAPs: Here, we argue why aquaculture requires special consideration. Aquaculture is a diverse, global collection of industries and activities, with heterogeneity in systems and species greatly exceeding terrestrial food-animal production, with products traded internationally in huge volumes. Almost 6 % of global total antibiotic usage is estimated to be applied in aquaculture, with per-biomass quantities in some species exceeding usage in human and terrestrial food-animals. The watery nature of aquaculture interconnects it with other One Health compartments: humans, other animals and the wider environment. Rapid industry growth challenges relatively detached stakeholders such as regulators and NAP creators to remain abreast of changing practices, whilst support capabilities and capacity, e.g., health services, typically lag behind growing needs. To integrate aquaculture effectively into next-generation NAPs, ensuring policies cover the One Health spectrum, NAP creators need to recognise the diversity of aquaculture and initiate engagement across associated value chains, especially health service providers. Disentangling the industry can assist formulation of realistic policies for heterogenous contexts and identify pathways to implementation. Resource allocation must be appropriate and include relevant government departments, whilst improved ways to track and monitor AMR, including those international activities that impact AMR domestically, through suitable data collection are key to monitoring and evaluating policies. Better NAPs are crucial to addressing AMR and this coordinated global approach provides our best opportunity for success.

Quantifying antimicrobial consumption in the Chilean salmon industry using standardized metrics and indicators: The case of florfenicol and oxytetracycline

The adoption of standardized metrics and indicators of antimicrobial use (AMU) in the food animal industry is essential for the success of programs aimed at promoting the responsible and judicious use of antimicrobials in this activity. The objective of this study was to introduce the use of standardized AMU metrics and indicators to quantify the use of florfenicol and oxytetracycline in the Chilean salmon industry, and in this way evaluate the feasibility of their use given the type of health and production information currently managed by the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (SERNAPESCA), the Chilean agency responsible for regulating aquaculture in Chile. The data available from SERNAPESCA allowed the construction and evaluation of the most data-demanding AMU metrics and indicators. Consequently, the use of florfenicol and oxytetracycline administered by oral and parenteral routes was quantified using the treatment incidence based on both animal defined daily dose (TIDDDvet) and animal used daily dose (TIUDDA). To that end, the study included information from 1320 closed production cycles from farms rearing Atlantic salmon, coho salmon and rainbow trout that were active between January 2017 and December 2021. By applying standardized AMU metrics and indicators, we were able to determine that the median of TIDDDvet for florfenicol was 75.1 (80 % range, 20.0-158.0) DDDvet per ton-year at risk for oral procedures and 0.36 (80 % range, 0.07-1.19) DDDvet per ton-year at risk for parenteral procedures. For oxytetracycline, the median TIDDDvet was 3.09 (80 % range, 0.74-42.8) and 0.47 (80 % range, 0.09-1.68) DDDvet per ton-year at risk for oral and parenteral procedures, respectively. The median TIUDDA for treatments with florfenicol was 45.6 (80 % range, 10.9-96.5) UDDA per ton-year at risk for oral treatments and 0.28 (80 % range, 0.05-0.80) UDDA per ton-year at risk for parenteral treatments. For oxytetracycline, the median TIUDDA was 2.63 (80 % range, 0.61-28.2) UDDA per ton-year at risk for oral treatments and 0.41 (80 % range, 0.08-1.29) UDDA per ton-year at risk for parenteral treatments. This study demonstrates that it is feasible to move from traditional AMU metrics and indicators to standardized ones in the Chilean salmon industry. This is possible because the competent authority requires salmon farms to report detailed health and production information at a high frequency. The use of standardized AMU metrics and indicators can help the authority to have a more comprehensive view of the antimicrobial use in the Chilean salmon industry.

Zoonotic sources and the spread of antimicrobial resistance from the perspective of low and middle-income countries

BACKGROUND

Antimicrobial resistance is an increasing challenge in low and middle-income countries as it is widespread in these countries and is linked to an increased mortality. Apart from human and environmental factors, animal-related drivers of antimicrobial resistance in low- and middle-income countries have special features that differ from high-income countries. The aim of this narrative review is to address the zoonotic sources and the spread of antimicrobial resistance from the perspective of low- and middle-income countries.

MAIN BODY

Contamination with extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli is highest in poultry (Africa: 8.9-60%, Asia: 53-93%) and there is a risk to import ESBL-producing E. coli through poultry meat in Africa. In aquacultures, the proportion of ESBL-producers among E. coli can be high (27%) but the overall low quality of published studies limit the general conclusion on the impact of aquacultures on human health. ESBL-producing E. coli colonization of wildlife is 1-9% in bats or 2.5-63% birds. Since most of them are migratory animals, they can disperse antimicrobial resistant bacteria over large distances. So-called 'filth flies' are a relevant vector not only of enteric pathogens but also of antimicrobial resistant bacteria in settings where sanitary systems are poor. In Africa, up to 72.5% of 'filth flies' are colonized with ESBL-producing E. coli, mostly conferred by CTX-M (24.4-100%). While methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus plays a minor role in livestock in Africa, it is frequently found in South America in poultry (27%) or pork (37.5-56.5%) but less common in Asia (poultry: 3%, pork: 1-16%).

CONCLUSIONS

Interventions to contain the spread of AMR should be tailored to the needs of low- and middle-income countries. These comprise capacity building of diagnostic facilities, surveillance, infection prevention and control in small-scale farming.

Rapid growth of antimicrobial resistance: the role of agriculture in the problem and the solutions

Abstract

The control of infectious diseases has always been a top medical priority. For years during the so-called antibiotic era, we enjoyed prolonged life expectancy and the benefits of superior pathogen control. The devastating failure of the medical system, agriculture and pharmaceutical companies and the general population to appreciate and safeguard these benefits is now leading us into a grim post-antibiotic era. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) refers to microorganisms becoming resistant to antibiotics that were designed and expected to kill them. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, AMR was recognised by the World Health Organization as the central priority area with growing public awareness of the threat AMR now presents. The Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, a project commissioned by the UK government, predicted that the death toll of AMR could be one person every 3 seconds, amounting to 10 million deaths per year by 2050. This review aims to raise awareness of the evergrowing extensiveness of antimicrobial resistance and identify major sources of this adversity, focusing on agriculture’s role in this problem and its solutions.

Keypoints

• Widespread development of antibiotic resistance is a major global health risk.

• Antibiotic resistance is abundant in agricultural produce, soil, food, water, air and probiotics.

• New approaches are being developed to control and reduce antimicrobial resistance.

Canadian Collaboration to Identify a Minimum Dataset for Antimicrobial Use Surveillance for Policy and Intervention Development across Food Animal Sectors

Surveillance of antimicrobial use (AMU) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a core component of the 2017 Pan-Canadian Framework for Action. There are existing AMU and AMR surveillance systems in Canada, but some stakeholders are interested in developing their own AMU monitoring/surveillance systems. It was recognized that the establishment of core (minimum) AMU data elements, as is necessary for policy or intervention development, would inform the development of practical and sustainable AMU surveillance capacity across food animal sectors in Canada. The Canadian Animal Health Surveillance System (CAHSS) AMU Network was established as a multisectoral working group to explore the possibility of harmonizing data inputs and outputs. There was a consensus that a minimum AMU dataset for AMU surveillance (MDS-AMU-surv) should be developed to guide interested parties in initiating AMU data collection. This multisectoral collaboration is an example of how consultative consensus building across relevant sectors can contribute to the development of harmonized approaches to AMU data collection and reporting and ultimately improve AMU stewardship. The MDS-AMU-surv could be used as a starting point for the progressive development or strengthening of AMU surveillance programs, and the collaborative work could serve as a model for addressing AMR and other shared threats at the human–animal–environment interface.