Understanding the awareness of antimicrobial resistance amongst commercial poultry farmers in northwestern Nigeria

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in both humans and animals is a growing health threat worldwide. Significant quantities of antibiotics are used in the livestock production sector, particularly in poultry farming to enhance growth and productivity. A cross-sectional study was conducted in three states of northwestern Nigeria to understand the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice of commercial poultry farmers on antimicrobial resistance. A total of 247 poultry farmers enrolled in the study comprising 100 (40.5 %) from Sokoto, 68 from Kebbi (27.5 %) and 79 (32.0 %) from Zamfara States. A significant number of the farmers have good knowledge of antimicrobial use (94.74 %), and the potential emergence of antimicrobial resistant bacteria due to irrational administration of antibiotics (83.0 %). Kruskal-Wallis test showed a significant difference in farmers' knowledge of AMR based on their educational qualification (p < 0.001) as farmers with bachelor's degree (BSc) being more knowledgeable than those with Ordinary National Diploma (OND) and those who only completed primary or secondary education. A statistically significant difference was also observed in the attitude of the participants based on State (p < 0.001) and educational qualification (p = 0.013). The study provided valuable insight into the understanding of antimicrobial resistance amongst commercial poultry farmers in the region. The findings necessitate the need for educational interventions and initiatives through enlightenment campaigns and deployment of extension workers to reach farmers with low level of education to further improve their attitudes and practice towards responsible use of antibiotics.

Prevalence and whole genome phylogenetic analysis reveal genetic relatedness between antibiotic resistance Salmonella in hatchlings and older chickens from farms in Nigeria

The presence of Salmonella in hatchlings is the single most important risk factor for the introduction of Salmonella into poultry farms, and resistant strains are particularly worrisome, as they could affect treatment outcomes in humans infected through consumption of contaminated poultry products. This study estimated Salmonella prevalence, determined resistance profiles of strains recovered from hatchlings in Nigeria, and determined genetic relatedness between hatchling strains and strains from poultry farms. In this study, 300 fecal samples were collected. Salmonella was isolated by culture and confirmed by PCR, and isolates were tested for susceptibility to antimicrobials by the disk diffusion method. Strains were pair-end sequenced, and genomes were used to obtain serotypes and antibiotic resistance genes. Whole-genome based phylogenetic analysis was used to determine genetic relatedness between these isolates and strains from previously characterized older chicken within the same geographical area. A prevalence of 10.7% was obtained belonging to 13 Salmonella serovars. Resistance to kanamycin (30/32), ciprofloxacin (22/32), nalidixic acid (22/32), and sulfonamides (22/32) were the most commonly observed phenotypic resistances. Twenty-two (68.8%) isolates showed multidrug resistance. In silico predictions identified 36 antimicrobial resistance genes. Four (12.5%) and 22 (68.8%) strains showed point mutations in gyrA and parC. Commonly observed acquired resistance genes included sul1, sul2, sul3, and tet(A) as well as a variety of aminoglycoside-modifying genes. Eleven (34.4%) isolates were predicted to have genes that confer resistance to fosfomycin (fosA7, fosB). A strain of S. Stanleyville was predicted to have optrA, which confers resistance to furazolidone. Strains of S. Kentucky, S. Muenster, and S. Menston obtained from hatchlings showed close genetic relatedness by having less than 30 SNPs difference to strains recovered from chickens at farms previously receiving hatchlings from the same sources.

Association between antimicrobial usage and resistance in Salmonella from poultry farms in Nigeria

BACKGROUND

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health threat affecting treatment outcome in animals and humans. A pre-requisite for development of AMR reduction strategies is knowledge of antimicrobial use patterns, and how these affect resistance development. The aim of this study was to determine antimicrobial usage (AMU) and whether such usage was associated with AMR in Salmonella from poultry farms in Northwest Nigeria.

RESULTS

Fifteen (37%) of antimicrobial products observed contained compounds that are of highest priority and critically important for human medicine. Broilers chicken consumed higher (28 ± 14 mg/kg active ingredients) amounts of antimicrobials compared to layers (13 ± 8 mg/kg) per week (p = 0.0009). Surprisingly, chickens raised under backyard system consumed higher amounts of antimicrobials (34 ± 7 mg/kg) than poultry in other systems (p = 0.02). High levels of resistance to tetracycline (58%), sulphonamides (65%), ciprofloxacin (46%) and gentamicin (42%) correlated with high farm level usage of these antimicrobials, and there was a strong correlation (r = 0.9) between farm usage and resistance of isolates to the same antimicrobials (p = 0.03).

CONCLUSION

High AMU, including use of highest priority critically important antimicrobials was observed at poultry farms in Northwest Nigeria. AMU correlated with high levels of resistance. Communication of prudent use of antimicrobials to farmers and regulation to obtain reduction in AMU should be a priority.

Genomic Analysis of Antimicrobial Resistance and Resistance Plasmids in Salmonella Serovars from Poultry in Nigeria

Antimicrobial resistance is a global public health concern, and resistance genes in Salmonella, especially those located on mobile genetic elements, are part of the problem. This study used phenotypic and genomic methods to identify antimicrobial resistance and resistance genes, as well as the plasmids that bear them, in Salmonella isolates obtained from poultry in Nigeria. Seventy-four isolates were tested for susceptibility to eleven commonly used antimicrobials. Plasmid reconstruction and identification of resistance and virulence genes were performed with a draft genome using in silico approaches in parallel with plasmid extraction. Phenotypic resistance to ciprofloxacin (50.0%), gentamicin (48.6%), nalidixic acid (79.7%), sulphonamides (71.6%) and tetracycline (59.5%) was the most observed. Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) detected in genomes corresponded well with these observations. Commonly observed ARGs included sul1, sul2, sul3, tet (A), tet (M), qnrS1, qnrB19 and a variety of aminoglycoside-modifying genes, in addition to point mutations in the gyrA and parC genes. Multiple ARGs were predicted to be located on IncN and IncQ1 plasmids of S. Schwarzengrund and S. Muenster, and most qnrB19 genes were carried by Col (pHAD28) plasmids. Seventy-two percent (19/24) of S. Kentucky strains carried multidrug ARGs located in two distinct variants of Salmonella genomic island I. The majority of strains carried full SPI-1 and SPI-2 islands, suggesting full virulence potential.

Exploring the Prospects of Engineered Newcastle Disease Virus in Modern Vaccinology

Many traditional vaccines have proven to be incapable of controlling newly emerging infectious diseases. They have also achieved limited success in the fight against a variety of human cancers. Thus, innovative vaccine strategies are highly needed to overcome the global burden of these diseases. Advances in molecular biology and reverse genetics have completely restructured the concept of vaccinology, leading to the emergence of state-of-the-art technologies for vaccine design, development and delivery. Among these modern vaccine technologies are the recombinant viral vectored vaccines, which are known for their incredible specificity in antigen delivery as well as the induction of robust immune responses in the vaccinated hosts. Although a number of viruses have been used as vaccine vectors, genetically engineered Newcastle disease virus (NDV) possesses some useful attributes that make it a preferable candidate for vectoring vaccine antigens. Here, we review the molecular biology of NDV and discuss the reverse genetics approaches used to engineer the virus into an efficient vaccine vector. We then discuss the prospects of the engineered virus as an efficient vehicle of vaccines against cancer and several infectious diseases of man and animals.

Development of Reporting Guidelines for Animal Health Surveillance-AHSURED

With the current trend in animal health surveillance toward risk-based designs and a gradual transition to output-based standards, greater flexibility in surveillance design is both required and allowed. However, the increase in flexibility requires more transparency regarding surveillance, its activities, design and implementation. Such transparency allows stakeholders, trade partners, decision-makers and risk assessors to accurately interpret the validity of the surveillance outcomes. This paper presents the first version of the Animal Health Surveillance Reporting Guidelines (AHSURED) and the process by which they have been developed. The goal of AHSURED was to produce a set of reporting guidelines that supports communication of surveillance activities in the form of narrative descriptions. Reporting guidelines come from the field of evidence-based medicine and their aim is to improve consistency and quality of information reported in scientific journals. They usually consist of a checklist of items to be reported, a description/definition of each item, and an explanation and elaboration document. Examples of well-reported items are frequently provided. Additionally, it is common to make available a website where the guidelines are documented and maintained. This first version of the AHSURED guidelines consists of a checklist of 40 items organized in 11 sections (i.e., surveillance system building blocks), which is available as a wiki at https://github.com/SVA-SE/AHSURED/wiki. The choice of a wiki format will allow for further inputs from surveillance experts who were not involved in the earlier stages of development. This will promote an up-to-date refined guideline document.

Salmonella Species On Meat Contact Surfaces and Processing Water in Sokoto Main Market and Abattoir, Nigeria

This study was carried out to determine Salmonella contamination of food contact surfaces and processing water in meat, fish and poultry processing units in Sokoto State, Nigeria. A total of 200 swab (100 from abattoir and 100 from poultry and fish markets) and 60 processing water samples (30 from abattoir and 30 from poultry and fish markets) were collected between May to August 2015. Cultural isolation, bio-typing and sero-grouping using Salmonella Sero-Quick Group Kit was conducted to analyse the samples. Seventy-five (75/260, 28.8 %) of the total samples were positive to Salmonella by cultural isolation and bio-typing. Thirty (30/130; 23.1 %) of samples collected in abattoir and 45 (45/130; 34.6 %) of those collected from poultry and fish markets were positive for Salmonella respectively. Sero-groups D+Vi (Salmonella Typhi), B (Salmonella Paratyphi B, Salmonella Typhimurium) and C (Salmonella Paratyphi C, Salmonella Cholerae suis) were identified as the prevailing sero-groups in this study. Sero-group D+Vi has the highest prevalence (73.3 %; 55/75) from the positive bio-typing isolates. This study revealed the presence of contaminating and pathogenic Salmonella on food contact surfaces and processing water in the meat retail markets, indicating there is an urgent need to improve on the hygienic status of retail meat, poultry and fish markets.