Dataset Information

Drivers, alternatives, knowledge, and perceptions towards antimicrobial use among Tennessee beef cattle producers: a qualitative study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In recent years, there has been an increased awareness of antimicrobial resistance in both animals and humans, which has triggered concerns over non-judicious antimicrobial use. In the United States, antimicrobial use in food-producing animals for growth promotion or improved feed efficiency is perceived as non-judicious. To facilitate judicious antimicrobial use, the United States Food and Drug Administration implemented the Veterinary Feed Directive, effective from January 1, 2017. Interventions, such as the VFD, designed to ensure the judicious use of antimicrobials among cattle producers may be more effective if the factors that inform and influence producer AMU practices are addressed. The specific objectives of this study were to determine the following among Tennessee beef cattle producers: (1) the most common drivers for using antimicrobials, (2) the perceived alternatives to antimicrobials, (3) the knowledge and perceptions regarding antimicrobial resistance, and (4) the preferred avenues for receiving information on prudent antimicrobial use. A total of 5 focus group meetings with beef producers were conducted in East, Middle, and West Tennessee. Each focus group was video recorded and thematic analysis was performed using NVivo.

Results

The factors that producers considered to drive antimicrobial use were the type of cattle operation, disease and animal welfare, economic factors, veterinarian consultation, producer's experience and peer support, Veterinary Feed Directive, and perceived drug efficacy. Vaccination, proper nutrition, and other good management practices were considered alternatives to antimicrobial use. To encourage vaccine use among small producers, participants suggested packaging vaccines into smaller quantities. Antimicrobial resistance was perceived to be a problem affecting animal and public health. Participants suggested additional education for cattle producers on the prudent use of antimicrobials as a measure for improving antimicrobial use. The veterinarian, producer associations and meetings, and county extension agents emerged as trusted avenues for channeling information on prudent antimicrobial use to cattle producers.

Conclusions

Several factors drive antimicrobial use among cattle producers in Tennessee. Participants generally perceived their antimicrobial use to be discreet and only when necessary. More awareness of drivers for the development of antimicrobial resistance and continuing education on prudent antimicrobial use is needed for Tennessee beef producers.

SUBMITTER: Ekakoro JE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6323766 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Drivers, alternatives, knowledge, and perceptions towards antimicrobial use among Tennessee beef cattle producers: a qualitative study.

Ekakoro John E JE Caldwell Marc M Strand Elizabeth B EB Okafor Chika C CC

BMC veterinary research 20190107 1

<h4>Background</h4>In recent years, there has been an increased awareness of antimicrobial resistance in both animals and humans, which has triggered concerns over non-judicious antimicrobial use. In the United States, antimicrobial use in food-producing animals for growth promotion or improved feed efficiency is perceived as non-judicious. To facilitate judicious antimicrobial use, the United States Food and Drug Administration implemented the Veterinary Feed Directive, effective from January 1 ...[more]

PMID: 30616648

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Project description:Nonjudicious antimicrobial use (AMU) and inadequate antimicrobial stewardship are known modifiable factors driving the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). A mixed methods approach using a combination of focus groups and survey questionnaires was used to explore the AMU practices of Tennessee (TN) dairy cattle producers. Specifically, the objectives of the study were to determine the following: (1) the most common drivers for using antimicrobials, (2) perceived alternatives to antimicrobials, (3) knowledge of and perceptions regarding AMR, (4) and the appropriate avenues for receiving information on prudent AMU. Two focus groups were conducted, one in July 2017 and the other in March 2018. The questionnaire was simultaneously made available to participants both in print form and online from January 26, 2018, through May 11, 2018. Twenty-three dairy producers participated in the focus groups and 45 responded to the survey. Eight (18.6%) producers never used bacterial culture and sensitivity testing (C/S) to select antimicrobials, more than half (25 producers (58.1%)) sometimes used C/S, four (9.3%) used C/S about half the time, five (11.6%) most of the time, and one (2.3%) always used C/S. The most common drivers for using antimicrobials were disease and animal welfare, pathogen surveillance, economic factors, veterinarian recommendation, producer's experience and judgment, drug attributes, and the Veterinary Feed Directive. Good management practices, vaccination, use of immunomodulatory products, and use of appropriate technology for early disease detection were considered alternatives to AMU. Four (9.1%) dairy producers were very concerned about AMR, 27 (61.4%) moderately concerned, and 10 (22.7%) not concerned. The veterinarian was considered to be a trusted source of information on prudent AMU. Use of C/S test results for antimicrobial selection is widespread among TN dairy producers. There is a need to popularize/promote selective dry cow therapy among TN dairy producers.

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Project description:IntroductionInappropriate antimicrobial use (AMU) in livestock production is an important aspect of the global burden of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In Ethiopia, a low-income country with a large and increasing livestock population, AMU in food animals is not properly regulated. Hence, farmers are fully free to use antimicrobials to their (perceived) benefit. Therefore, understanding farmers' mindsets is important to improve antimicrobial stewardship in the livestock sector.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted to assess livestock disease management practices and knowledge, attitude, and behavior (KAB) among livestock producers regarding AMU, residues, and resistance, as well as factors potentially explaining differences in KAB. We determined the KAB of livestock owners of three selected districts of central and western Ethiopia (n = 457), using a pretested questionnaire administered through face-to-face interviews. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between potential explanatory variables and the KAB scores of the respondents.ResultsThe results showed that 44% of the farmers used antimicrobials in the past few years, where antibiotics (21%) and trypanocides (11%) were most widely used to manage livestock diseases. Furthermore, most farmers showed poor knowledge about AMU, residues, and AMR (94%) and unfavorable attitudes (<50% correct answers) toward contributing factors for AMR (97%). On the contrary, 80% of the respondents had overall good behavior scores (≥50% correct answers) related to AMU. Multivariate analysis results showed that having good knowledge, keeping ≥2 animal species, and the occurrence of ≥4 livestock diseases on the farm in a year were strong predictors of bad behavior scores (p < 0.05). The findings of the current investigation also revealed that the incidence of livestock diseases on the farm and a higher level of formal education significantly contributed to better knowledge and desirable attitudes but bad AMU behavior.ConclusionA low level of awareness about and undesirable attitudes toward AMU and AMR could potentially affect farmers' behavior toward judicious AMU, thus requiring awareness creation efforts on livestock disease management practices.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Antimicrobial growth promoters (AGPs) are antimicrobial agents administered to livestock in feed for prolonged periods to enhance feed efficiency. Beef cattle are primarily finished in confined feeding operations in Canada and the USA, and the administration of AGPs such as chlortetracycline and sulfamethazine (Aureo S-700 G) is the standard. The impacts of AGPs on the intestinal microbiota of beef cattle are currently uncertain; it is documented that AGPs administered to beef cattle pass through the rumen and enter the intestine. To ascertain the impacts of Aureo S-700 G on the small and large intestinal microbiota of beef cattle (mucosa-associated and within digesta), terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis and quantitative PCR (qPCR) for total bacteria were applied. Beef cattle were maintained in an experimental feedlot (five replicate pens per treatment), and AGP treatment cattle were administered Aureo S-700 G in feed, whereas control cattle were administered no antimicrobials. As the intestinal microbiota of beef cattle has not been extensively examined, clone library analysis was applied to ascertain the primary bacterial constituents of the intestinal microbiota. RESULTS:Comparative T-RFLP and qPCR analysis (n?=?122 samples) revealed that bacterial community fingerprints and bacterial load within digesta differed from those associated with mucosa. However, the administration of Aureo S-700 G did not affect bacterial community fingerprints or bacterial load within the small and large intestine relative to control cattle. Analysis of >1500 near full length 16S rDNA clones revealed considerably greater bacterial diversity in the large relative to the small intestine of beef cattle. Mucosa-associated bacterial communities in the jejunum were dominated by Proteobacteria, and differed conspicuously from those in the ileum and large intestine. Although the ileum contained bacterial clones that were common to the jejunum as well as the cecum, Firmicutes clones associated with mucosa dominated in the ileum, cecum, and descending colon. In the descending colon, clone library analysis did not reveal a difference in the richness or diversity of bacterial communities within digesta relative to those associated with mucosa. However, T-RFLP analysis indicated a significant difference in T-RF relative abundance (i.e. difference in relative taxon abundance) between mucosa-associated and digesta communities attributed in part to the differential abundance of Bacteriodes, Alistipes, Oscillibacter, and unclassified Clostridiales. CONCLUSIONS:These data demonstrate that there was no significant difference in the composition of the predominant intestinal bacteria constituents within animals administered Aureo S-700 G and those not administered AGPs after a 28 day withdrawal period.

Dataset Information

Drivers, alternatives, knowledge, and perceptions towards antimicrobial use among Tennessee beef cattle producers: a qualitative study.

Background

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Drivers, alternatives, knowledge, and perceptions towards antimicrobial use among Tennessee beef cattle producers: a qualitative study.

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