Department of Public Health and Community Nursing, University of Dodoma, Dodoma, Tanzania.
PLoS One. 2022 Aug 18;17(8):e0272763. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0272763. eCollection 2022.
Antimicrobial residues (ABs) in foods contribute to the development of antimicrobial resistance, which is becoming a major public health concern around the world. Understanding food production practices concerning antimicrobial use and consumer awareness on the possibility of ABs in foods is necessary for developing mitigation strategies. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the production practices and awareness among eggs and Chinese cabbage consumers in Dodoma city.
A cross-sectional study was conducted using a structured questionnaire and checklist to collect data on awareness and production practices from 420 consumers, 30 chicken egg farmers, and 30 Chinese cabbage farmers in eight city wards.
About 42% of consumers of eggs and Chinese cabbages were not aware of the likelihood of antimicrobial residues in these foods. The awareness was significantly influenced by the consumer's educational level (p = 0.001) and geographical location (p = 0.045), with educated and urban consumers being 7.7 and 1.6 times more informed than their uneducated and peri-urban counterparts. Furthermore, the majority of chicken farmers raised more layers than broilers, and they all used antimicrobial drugs, mainly tetracycline and its variants, to treat and prevent diseases. The findings also revealed that many vegetable producers utilized wastes from animals treated with antimicrobials as manure to amend the soil.
In a view of the findings, a considerable number of egg and Chinese cabbage consumers in Dodoma city were unaware on the likelihood of antimicrobial residues in these foods from their production practices. All chicken farmers utilized antimicrobial drugs mainly tetracycline and its derivatives, for the treatment and prevention of diseases while vegetable producers used wastes from animals treated with antimicrobials as soil manure. Therefore, initiatives to inform farmers and consumers about the possibility of antimicrobial residues in these foods and their related public health risks upon long-term consumption are strongly advised.
食品中的抗菌药物残留（ABs）导致抗菌药物耐药性的产生，这已成为全球主要的公共卫生关注点。了解食品生产中抗菌药物使用的实践情况以及消费者对食品中 ABs 可能性的认知，对于制定缓解策略是必要的。因此，本研究旨在评估多多马市鸡蛋和白菜消费者的生产实践和意识。
采用横断面研究，使用结构化问卷和检查表从八个城市行政区的 420 名消费者、30 名鸡蛋农场主和 30 名白菜农场主收集关于意识和生产实践的数据。
约 42%的鸡蛋和白菜消费者不知道这些食品中可能存在抗菌药物残留。消费者的教育水平（p=0.001）和地理位置（p=0.045）显著影响了这种意识，受过教育的城市消费者比未受过教育的和城郊消费者的信息灵通程度高 7.7 倍和 1.6 倍。此外，大多数蛋鸡饲养者饲养的蛋鸡比肉鸡多，他们都使用抗菌药物，主要是四环素及其变体，来治疗和预防疾病。研究结果还表明，许多蔬菜生产者利用用抗菌药物处理过的动物的废物作为肥料来改良土壤。
鉴于这些发现，多多马市相当数量的鸡蛋和白菜消费者不知道这些食品从生产实践中可能存在抗菌药物残留。所有的养鸡户都使用了主要是四环素及其衍生物的抗菌药物来治疗和预防疾病，而蔬菜生产者则将用抗菌药物处理过的动物的废物用作土壤肥料。因此，强烈建议向农民和消费者宣传这些食品中可能存在抗菌药物残留及其长期食用相关的公共卫生风险。
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