Mdemu Siha, Matondo Augustine B, Christensen Jens Peter, Amasha Ahmed E, Ngowi Helena A, Westwood Erica, Ochai Sunday O, Nonga Hezron E, Osbjer Kristina, Mdegela Robinson H
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Public Health, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.
Tanzania Veterinary Laboratory Agency, Vaccine Institute, Kibaha, Pwani, Tanzania.
Front Antibiot. 2025 Apr 28;4:1571096. doi: 10.3389/frabi.2025.1571096. eCollection 2025.
Indiscriminate use of veterinary antibiotics significantly contributes to the current antibiotic resistance in the world. The primary objective of this study was to explore the factors that could influence knowledge, attitudes and practices of antibiotic use in commercial layer farms.
A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate antibiotic use patterns and their associated factors among layer chicken farmers in Tanzania. The study surveyed 205 farmers randomly selected from three regions: Unguja, Morogoro, and Dar es Salaam. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, while negative binomial and multiple linear regression models were employed to identify factors influencing antibiotic usage patterns.
A widespread use of antibiotics was revealed, with 97.1% of farmers using antibiotics for treatment, prophylaxis and/or increasing egg productivity. The most commonly used antibiotics were oxytetracycline (63%), doxycline-tylosin combination (29.8%) and enrofloxacin (22.4%). Notably, 95.6% of farmers reported that they do not observe withdrawal periods. Assessment of farmers' knowledge, attitudes, and practices yielded mean scores of 55.5%, 69.1% and 50.9% respectively. Furthermore, older adults and individuals with primary education were more likely to have higher attitude scores. Geographic location and flock size are among other factors that are likely to influence knowledge and attitudes towards antibiotic use. Higher frequency of antibiotic use was significantly associated with young adults, medium-scale farm operators, and farmers in Morogoro region (compared to the other two regions).
The frequency, knowledge, attitude and practices related to the use of antibiotics were affected by scale of production, location, age, and education. These findings provide insights into antibiotic stewardship among layer farmers that could suggest future multifaceted interventions to promote prudent use of antibiotics, hence mitigating risk of antibiotic resistance.
不加区分地使用兽用抗生素是导致当前全球抗生素耐药性的一个重要因素。本研究的主要目的是探究可能影响商业蛋鸡养殖场抗生素使用知识、态度和行为的因素。
开展了一项横断面研究，以评估坦桑尼亚蛋鸡养殖户的抗生素使用模式及其相关因素。该研究对从三个地区（奔巴岛、莫罗戈罗和达累斯萨拉姆）随机选取的205名养殖户进行了调查。使用描述性统计方法分析数据，同时采用负二项式和多元线性回归模型来确定影响抗生素使用模式的因素。
研究发现抗生素使用普遍，97.1%的养殖户使用抗生素进行治疗、预防和/或提高产蛋量。最常用的抗生素是土霉素（63%）、强力霉素 - 泰乐菌素组合（29.8%）和恩诺沙星（22.4%）。值得注意的是，95.6%的养殖户表示他们不遵守停药期。对养殖户的知识、态度和行为的评估得分分别为55.5%、69.1%和50.9%。此外，老年人和接受过小学教育的人态度得分更高。地理位置和鸡群规模是可能影响抗生素使用知识和态度的其他因素。抗生素使用频率较高与年轻人、中型农场经营者以及莫罗戈罗地区的养殖户（与其他两个地区相比）显著相关。
抗生素使用的频率、知识、态度和行为受到生产规模、地理位置、年龄和教育程度的影响。这些发现为蛋鸡养殖户的抗生素管理提供了见解，可能有助于提出未来多方面的干预措施，以促进抗生素的谨慎使用，从而降低抗生素耐药性风险。
