December 29, 2010
Dr Patrick Irungu is a Lecturer at the Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nairobi and Dr Samuel Kariuki is the Chief Research Officer and Head of Department, Centre for Microbiology Research at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI). They are co-leading a study on antibiotic use and resistance patterns in livestock in Kenya, sponsored by the Global Antibiotic Resistance Partnership (GARP)–a CDDEP project. In the following post they discuss the aims of the study and the importance of understanding the drivers of antibiotic use and resistance in the Kenyan context.
Kenya is richly endowed with numerous livestock species that inhabit the country s diverse ecosystems. Collectively, the livestock sector contributes about 12 percent of Kenya s gross domestic product (GDP) and about 40 percent of the agricultural GDP. The sector employs about 20 percent of the population directly and another 27 percent indirectly through linkages with other sectors such as agro-processing, food, and service industries. Livestock also act as a store of wealth and a means of savings in the form of a living bank, particularly amongst the rural unbanked communities in Kenya. Additionally, livestock are used to meet households socio-cultural obligations such as payment of the bride price, fines, and gifts to strengthen kinship ties; and in performance of religious rites. Among the poorest of households, livestock-keeping has been cited to be a critical first rung out of poverty.
In spite of the important role played by livestock in the Kenyan society, disease remains the single most significant constraint limiting the growth and development of Kenya s livestock sector. The tropical climate under which livestock are kept in Kenya favors the proliferation of a multitude of disease pathogens, vectors, and pests. The presence of disease in a livestock production system not only reduces the efficiency of the resources used in production but also necessitates the use of veterinary remedies aimed at reducing its negative effects. Such remedies include antibiotics.
Although antibiotics are widely used in livestock in Kenya, there is little information on the patterns and intensity of use as well as the outcomes associated with usage. This study was designed to fill these gaps in research. For example, studies have shown that excessive and inappropriate use of antibiotics is a leading cause of antibiotic resistance, but there is little information on the extent of antimicrobial resistance in livestock in Kenya. Furthermore, there is no information on the motivation for the use of antibiotics in livestock in Kenya i.e., do livestock farmers use antibiotics for curative, preventive, or growth promotion purposes? A proper understanding of the incentives that drive antibiotic use is an important precondition to developing effective policies and programs aimed at curbing inappropriate antibiotic use practices, particularly in developing countries such as Kenya where the monitoring of veterinary drug use is weak.
The study was conducted in two stages. The first stage involved the surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp., Escherichia coli and Enterococcus spp. from the gut of healthy food animals and retail meat outlets in the peri-urban Nairobi area. This surveillance was followed by a trace-back socio-economic survey of farmers sampled during the antimicrobial resistance survey. A total of 60 farmers 20 farmers in each of three production systems (pigs, poultry and beef cattle) were interviewed using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire. The questionnaire captured antibiotics use practices and the motivations informing such use, as well as socio-economic attributes of the farmer. Additionally, 21 key informants including veterinarians, agro-vet shop operators, and animal health assistants were interviewed to shed more light on antibiotic use practices by farmers.
Data analysis is currently underway. Its results will not only increase our understanding of the dynamics of antibiotic use and resistance in the livestock sector in Kenya, they will also contribute to the development of GARP s National Policy Strategy report for the country (forthcoming October 2011). The Kenya report will focus specifically on actionable policy proposals for balancing access to antibiotic treatment with concerns about the increasing development of resistance.
