World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week 2023: Preventing antimicrobial resistance together through collaborative research

World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week is marked annually from 18 to 24 November to raise global awareness on antimicrobial resistance and promote best practices to reduce the emergence and spread of drug-resistant infections.

Antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines, making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.

Antimicrobial resistance is currently one of the biggest threats to global public health. Researchers have estimated that bacterial antimicrobial resistance caused 1.2 million deaths in 2019.

Two-thirds of the global increase in antimicrobial use is from the agricultural sector. Rational use of animal health products, particularly antibiotics, should therefore be promoted as one of the strategies to reduce the spread of antimicrobial resistance.

The Animal and Human Health program of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) seeks to effectively manage or eliminate livestock, zoonotic and foodborne diseases that matter to the poor through the generation and use of knowledge, technologies and products, leading to higher farmer incomes and better health and nutrition for consumers and livestock.

Our research approach to improving flock and herd health in smallholder systems promotes the rational use of antibiotics. To this end, we work with national, regional and international partners to carry out research on antimicrobial resistance at the human–livestock interface.

To celebrate World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week 2023, under the theme Preventing Antimicrobial Resistance Together, we feature a curated selection of recent collaborative research outputs on antimicrobial resistance authored and co-authored by scientists from ILRI’s Animal and Human Health program.

Peer-reviewed journal articles

1. Aboah, J., Ngom, B., Emes, E., Fall, A.G., Seydi, M., Faye, A. and Dione, M. 2023. Mapping the effect of antimicrobial resistance in poultry production in Senegal: an integrated system dynamics and network analysis approach. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 10: 1189109.
2. Baker, K.S., Jauneikaite, E., Nunn, J.G., Midega, J.T., Atun, R., Holt, K.E., Walia, K., Howden, B.P., Tate, H., Okeke, I.N., Carattoli, A., Hsu, L.Y., Hopkins, K.L., Muloi, D.M., Wheeler, N.E., Aanensen, D.M., Mason, L.C.E., Rodgus, J., Hendriksen, R.S., Essack, S.Y., Egyir, B., Halpin, A.L., MacCannell, D.R., Campos, J., Srikantiah, P., Feasey, N.A. and Peacock, S.J. for the SEDRIC Genomics Surveillance Working Group. 2023. Evidence review and recommendations for the implementation of genomics for antimicrobial resistance surveillance: reports from an international expert group. Lancet Microbe.
3. Bor, N., Seguino, A., Sentamu, D.N., Chepyatich, D., Akoko, J.M., Muinde, P. and Thomas, L.F. 2023. Prevalence of antibiotic residues in pork in Kenya and the potential of using gross pathological lesions as a risk-based approach to predict residues in meat. Antibiotics 12(3): 492.
4. Dey, T.K., Lindahl, J.F., Lundkvist, Å., Grace, D., Deka, R.P., Shome, R., Bandyopadhyay, S., Goyal, N.K., Sharma, G. and Shome, B.R. 2023. Analyses of extended-spectrum-β-lactamase, metallo-β-lactamase, and AmpC-β-lactamase producing Enterobacteriaceae from the dairy value chain in India. Antibiotics 12(9): 1449.
5. Dey, T.K., Shome. B.R., Bandyopadhyay, S., Goyal, N.K., Lundkvist, Å., Deka, R.P., Shome, F., Venugopal, N., Grace, D., Sharma, G., Rahman, H. and Lindahl, J.F. 2023. Molecular characterization of methicillin-resistant staphylococci from the dairy value chain in two Indian states. Pathogens 12(2): 344.
6. Dunlea, T., Richards, S. and Lembo, T. 2023. Healthcare provider-focused antimicrobial stewardship in sub-Saharan Africa: opportunities and challenges. Trends in Microbiology 31(3): 215–218.
7. Emes, E., Faye, A., Naylor, N., Belay, D., Ngom, B., Fall, A.G., Knight, G. and Dione, M. 2023. Drivers of antibiotic use in semi-intensive poultry farms: Evidence from a survey in Senegal. Antibiotics 12(3): 460.
8. Emes, E., Wieland, B., Magnusson, U. and Dione, M. 2023. How farm practices and antibiotic use drive disease incidence in smallholder livestock farms: Evidence from a survey in Uganda. One Health 17: 100627.
9. Gemeda, B.A., Wieland, B., Alemayehu, G., Knight-Jones, T.J.D., Wodajo, H.D., Tefera, M., Kumbe, A., Olani, A., Abera, S. and Amenu, K. 2023. Antimicrobial resistance of Escherichia coli isolates from livestock and the environment in extensive smallholder livestock production systems in Ethiopia. Antibiotics 12(5): 941.
10. Gudda, F., Odinga, E.S., Tang, L., Waigi, M.G., Wang, J., Abdalmegeed, D. and Gao, Y. 2023. Tetracyclines uptake from irrigation water by vegetables: Accumulation and antimicrobial resistance risks. Environmental Pollution 338: 22696.
11. Hamilton, K.A., Njoroge, S.M., Momanyi, K., Murungi, M.K., Odinga, C.O., Bor, N., Ogendo, A.F., Odaba, J., Ogola, J.G., Fèvre, E.M. and Falzon, L.C. 2023. Antimicrobial resistance in slaughterhouses, Kenya. Emerging Infectious Diseases 29(10): 2155–2158.
12. Jimenez, C.E.P., Keestra, S., Tandon, P., Cumming, O., Pickering, A.J., Moodley, A. and Chandler, C.I.R. 2023. Biosecurity and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions in animal agricultural settings for reducing infection burden, antibiotic use, and antibiotic resistance: a One Health systematic review. Lancet Planetary Health 7(5): e418–e434.
13. Jimenez, C.E.P., Keestra, S.M., Tandon, P., Pickering, A.J., Moodley, A., Cumming, O. and Chandler, C.I.R. 2023. One Health WASH: an AMR-smart integrative approach to preventing and controlling infection in farming communities. BMJ Global Health 8(3): e011263.
14. Kariuki, J.W., Jacobs, J., Ngogang, M.P. and Howland, O. 2023. Antibiotic use by poultry farmers in Kiambu County, Kenya: exploring practices and drivers of potential overuse. Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control 12: 3.
15. Kisoo, L., Muloi, D.M., Oguta, W., Ronoh, D., Kirwa, L., Akoko, J., Fèvre, E.M., Moodley, A. and Wambua, L. 2023. Practices and drivers for antibiotic use in cattle production systems in Kenya. One Health 17: 100646.
16. Muloi, D.M., Jauneikaite, E., Anjum, M.F., Essack, S.Y., Singleton, D.A., Kasudi, M.R., Wade, M.J., Egyir, B., Nunn, J.G., Midega, J.T., Peacock, S.J., Feasey, N.A., Baker, K.S. and Zadoks, R.N. for the SEDRIC Genomics Surveillance Working Group. 2023. Exploiting genomics for antimicrobial resistance surveillance at One Health interfaces. Lancet Microbe.
17. Mutua, F., Kiarie, G., Mbatha, M., Onono, J., Boqvist, S., Kilonzi, E., Mugisha, L., Moodley, A. and Sternberg-Lewerin, S. 2023. Antimicrobial use by peri-urban poultry smallholders of Kajiado and Machakos counties in Kenya. Antibiotics 12(5): 905.
18. Samad, M.A., Eberson, L., Begum, R., Alam, M.G.S., Talukdar, F., Akter, R., Sinh Dang-Xuan, Sharma, G., Islam, S., Siddiky, N.A., Uddin, A.S.M.A., Mahmud, M.A., Sarker, M.S., Rahman, M.S., Grace, D. and Lindahl, J.F. 2023. Microbial contamination and antibiotic resistance in marketed food in Bangladesh: Current situation and possible improvements. Antibiotics 12(3): 555.
19. Sawadogo, A., Kagambèga, A., Moodley, A., Ouedraogo, A.A., Barro, N. and Dione, M. 2023. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance among poultry farmers in urban and peri-urban areas of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Antibiotics 12(1): 133.
20. Tufa, T.B., Regassa, F., Amenu, K., Stegeman, J.A. and Hogeveen, H. 2023. Livestock producers’ knowledge, attitude, and behavior (KAB) regarding antimicrobial use in Ethiopia. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 10: 1167847.

Technical report

1. Ssajjakambwe, P., Atuheire, C., Okello, J., Kakooza, S., Waiswa, J., Ayebare, D., Roesel, K. and Moodley, A. 2023. Antimicrobial resistance and stewardship among stakeholders of the poultry value chain in Wakiso and Soroti districts, Uganda: Knowledge, attitudes and practices report. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI.

Join the online conversations by following the hashtags #AntimicrobialResistance, #AMR and #WAAW.

Header photo: Sample collection from a smallholder farm in Uganda to assess the drivers of antimicrobial use in the poultry value chain (ILRI/Pamela Wairagala)