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Escherichia coli from Nigeria exhibit a high prevalence of antibiotic resistance

where reliance on antibiotics in poultry production is a potential contributing
factor

Article  in  African Journal of Microbiology Research · September 2013

DOI: 10.5897/AJMR12.671

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 Vol. 7(38), pp. 4646-4654, 20 September, 2013
DOI: 10.5897/AJMR12.671
ISSN 1996-0808 ©2013 Academic Journals African Journal of Microbiology Research
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Full Length Research Paper

Escherichia coli from Nigeria exhibit a high prevalence

of antibiotic resistance where reliance on antibiotics in
poultry production is a potential contributing factor
Chijioke A. Nsofor1,, Isaac O. Olatoye2,4, Elizabeth A. Amosun3, Christian U. Iroegbu1,
Margaret A. Davis4, Lisa H. Orfe5 and Douglas R. Call4,5*
1
Department of Microbiology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.
2
Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
3
Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Parasitology, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
4
Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA.
5
Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA.
Accepted 12 September, 2013

To assess the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in Nigeria, single Escherichia coli isolates were
collected from a geographically diverse panel of fecal samples collected from human clinical and non-
clinical donors (n=77), livestock (cattle, swine, and goats) and chickens (n=71 total). There was no
difference in the proportion of isolates resistant to ≥1 antibiotics from human clinical and non-clinical
samples, but overall, this was significantly higher for human (85.7%) compared to animal (53.5%)
isolates (P<0.0001). The average number of resistance phenotypes per isolate was significantly higher
for human (5.0), goat (4.0), and poultry (3.4) compared with cattle (2.4) and swine (2.0) (P<0.05). There
were 25 different resistance phenotypes with more diversity from animal compared with human
isolates. A survey of management practices at 30 poultry farms in the vicinity of Ibadan found that all
respondents self-milled feed and most (87.7%) routinely added antibiotics to feed. Tetracyclines were
the dominant antibiotics of choice followed by tylosin and gentamicin and some use of
chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, and enrofloxacin. If this pattern of antibiotic resistance and use is
repeated across the different sectors of food-animal production and in multiple developing countries,
then trade and travel are likely to disseminate resistance traits to other countries potentially negating
local policies that are designed to limit selection for antibiotic resistant bacteria.

Key words: Antibiotic resistance, Escherichia coli, growth promotion, poultry, chloramphenicol.

INTRODUCTION

Antibiotic resistance is a significant worldwide public Li and Wang, 2010). Antibiotic resistant bacteria that
health concern (French, 2010; Kumarasamy et al., 2010) normally pose no immediate disease risk can also
both because of resistance found in specific pathogens become opportunistic pathogens that complicate post-
(Delsol et al., 2004; Hurd et al., 2010), and because operative recovery (Patel and Kirby, 2008) or otherwise
resistance harbored by commensal organisms may serve become problematic for immunocompromised individuals
as a reservoir of traits that can be disseminated to (Bonomo, 2001). While a number of ecological factors
pathogens (Pallecchi et al., 2007; Shoemaker et al., 2001; probably contribute to the dissemination and maintenance

*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]. Tel: 509-335-6313. Fax: 509-335-8529.

 Nsofor et al. 4647

of antibiotic resistance traits, it is clear that antibiotic use domestic livestock viz. cattle, goats, pigs and chicken obtained from
is a primary factor that selects for the evolution and five geopolitical zones of Nigeria viz. south-east, south-west, south-
south, north-central and north-north. In the south-south and south-
amplification of antibiotic resistant bacteria in humans
east, clinical specimens were collected at the University of Port
and animals. Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and the
The rising prevalence of antibiotic resistance is a Abia State University Teaching Hospital, Aba, Abia State,
particularly important problem in deve-loping countries respectively. The Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja,
where there is limited control of the quality, distribution Lagos, was the site of specimen collection for the south-west, while
and use of antibiotics in human medicine, veterinary the National Hospital, Abuja and Military Reference Hospital,
Kaduna State, were the sources of specimens from the north-
medicine, and food-animal agricul-ture (Okeke et al., central and north-north, respectively. All fecal samples from these
1999). The relative contribution of these three sectors to hospitals were clinical specimens from patients presenting with
the evolution and amplification of antibiotic resistance is gastroenteritis. Fecal samples were also collected from apparently
not clearly understood (McDermott et al., 2002; Oliver et healthy undergraduate students at Madonna University Elele,
al., 2011) although it probably varies with different Rivers State. For this convenience sample, individuals were limited
to those reporting no exposure to antibiotics for six months prior to
countries. Indeed, many of the highly complex issues in
sampling and each person received an explanation of the study
developing countries that influence antibiotic use objectives and consent form for inclusion in the study.
practices in human medicine (Okeke et al., 1999) are All sampling procedures were in accordance with guidelines that
likely to apply to both veterinary and food-animal are promulgated by the National Health Research Ethics Committee
applications. in Nigeria (www.nhrec.net). None of the animals included in this
At a broader level, the evolution and amplification of study (at the time of specimen collection) exhibited signs and
symptoms of abnormal health. The cattle and goat specimens came
antibiotic resistance traits in developing countries should from the Obinze livestock market Owerri, Imo State, while the
be a significant focus of attention for industrialized Madonna University Poultry Elele, Rivers State, was the source of
countries as well. For example, while policy makers in the poultry specimens. The specimens from swine came from a farm
USA debate the merits of limiting antibiotic use in food located at the Ogbor-Hill area of Aba, Abia State. There was no
animals (DHHS, 2010b), the potential benefits of such documented evidence of antibiotics use in the farms from which the
limits could be overshadowed by amplification in specimens were collected, although the manager of the poultry
farm indicated occasional antibiotic use at this facility. In all, a
developing countries and dissemination of antibiotic single non-duplicate E. coli isolate was selected from each human
resistant bacteria and resistance traits through travel and and animal fecal sample to maximize biological independence
trade. More efforts are needed to understand how between observations.
antibiotic use practices at an international scale ultimately
influence the prevalence and dissemination of antibiotic
Isolation of E. coli
traits within individual countries.
Bacterial antibiotic resistance has been highlighted in Fresh fecal droppings were collected from animals and care was
Nigeria through a series of published studies since the taken to avoid collecting more than one fecal sample per individual
1990’s (Okeke et al., 1999; Fashae et al., 2010; Akinyemi animal. Feces were packed in a sterile plastic container and were
et al., 2011; Ogbolu et al., 2011) and thus Nigeria transported to the laboratory on ice for processing and cultivation. 1
g of each animal’s feces was diluted in 9 ml of 0.85% sterile saline
provides a model for considering how antibiotic use in
solution. The contents were mixed thoroughly and serially diluted
different sectors of a developing country can impact the (10-fold) before plating on Eosin Methylene Blue agar (EMB)
prevalence of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Our first (Oxoid, England) to isolate Gram-negative enteric bacilli (Holt-
objective was to conduct a comparative analysis of Harris and Teague, 1916; Levine, 1918). Human fecal specimens
antibiotic resistance for bacteria from humans and were streaked directly on EMB agar with a sterile inoculating loop.
domestic animals under the null hypothesis that the No antibiotic was included in the EMB agar plates used for
cultivation. The inoculated plates were incubated overnight at 37°C.
prevalence of antibiotic resistant bacteria would be equal A single isolate resembling E. coli (green metallic sheen on EMB)
for human and animal populations in Nigeria. We focused was selected from an individual fecal sample for further
on E. coli because this species includes a broad range of characterization. Identification of E. coli was confirmed using
both pathogenic and commensal serovars that can conventional microbiological tests; indole positive, methyl-red
harbor antibiotic resistance traits of interest to human and positive and citrate negative (Cheesbrough, 2000). Isolates were
veterinary medicine. Our second objective was to survey transported to Washington State University Field Diseases
Investigation Unit (WSU-FDIU, Pullman, WA) where identity was
antibiotic use practices in poultry production. Widespread further confirmed by characteristic growth on 4-methylumbelliferyl-
consumption of poultry by Nigerian consumers makes b-D-glucuronide (MUG) supplemented with violet red bile (VRB-
this sector of food production a potentially important MUG) (Venkateswaran et al., 1996) and by an indole test.
source of antibiotic resistant bacteria in the human diet.
Antibiotic susceptibility testing
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The antibiotic susceptibility pattern of the isolates was determined
Sample collection using the disk diffusion method on Mueller-Hinton agar at the WSU-
FDIU. Inhibition zone sizes were interpreted using standard
The study population included humans (who were either ill or recommendations of the Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute
presumptively healthy) and a variety of presumptively healthy (CLSI, 2008). Susceptibility was tested against ampicillin (AM; 10 ug),
4648 Afr. J. Microbiol. Res.

Table 1. Percentage of antibiotic resistant E. coli from humans and animals in Nigeria.

Human Animal
Antibiotic Clinical Non-clinical Human combined Cattle Goats Poultry Swine Animal combined
(n=65) (n=12) (n=77) (n=27) (n=13) (n=14) (n=17) (n=71)
Am a 78.5 83.3 79.2 29.6 61.5 64.3 35.3 43.7
Amc 32.3 41.7 33.8 14.8 30.8 28.6 5.9 18.3
An 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.4
C 23.1 8.3 20.8 18.5 23.1 21.4 5.9 16.9
Caz 1.5 0.0 1.3 0.0 0.0 7.1 0.0 1.4
G 83.1 91.7 84.4 37.0 69.2 64.3 35.3 47.9
Gm 13.8 16.7 14.3 11.1 0.0 0.0 5.9 5.6
K 12.3 16.7 13.0 11.1 0.0 0.0 5.9 5.6
Nal 24.6 25.0 24.7 18.5 0.0 14.3 5.9 11.3
S 67.7 66.7 67.5 22.2 61.5 35.7 29.4 33.8
Sxt 83.1 83.3 83.1 37.0 69.2 57.1 35.3 46.5
T 81.5 83.3 81.8 37.0 84.6 50.0 35.3 47.9
a
Am = ampicillin; Amc = amoxicillin/clavulanic acid; An = amikacin; C = chloramphenicol; Caz = ceftazidime; G = sulfisoxazole; Gm =
Gentamicin; K = kanamycin; Nal = nalidixic acid; S = streptomycin; Sxt = trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole; and T = tetracycline.

amikacin (AN; 10 ug), amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (AmC; 20/10 ug), knowledge of withdrawal period and antibiotic resistant food-borne
chloramphenicol (C; 30 ug), ceftazidime (CAZ; 30 ug), sulfisoxazole pathogens. Invariably, it was not possible to provide precise case
(G; 0.25 mg), gentamycin (GM; 10 ug), kanamycin (K; 30 ug), definitions or diagnostic confirmation, but self-reported diseases
nalidixic acid (NA; 30 ug), streptomycin (S; 10 ug), could be characterized into ten categories.
sulfamethaxazole/trimethoprim (SxT; 23.75 ug/1.25 ug), and
tetracycline (TE; 30 ug). All antibiotic discs were purchased from
Becton Dickinson (Franklin Lakes, NJ). E. coli (ATCC 25922), RESULTS
Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25932), and Enterococcus fecalis
(ATCC 29212) were used as reference strains for culture Antibiotic resistance
identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing.
In total, we collected a single isolate of E. coli from each
Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of 77 human and 71 animal fecal samples (Table 1).
There was less overall variance in the proportion of
PFGE was performed using XbaI (New England Biolabs) based on resistant isolates for human clinical and non-clinical
the PulseNet protocol with minor modifications isolates (average 4.1% difference) compared with the
(www.cdc.gov/pulsenet/protocols.htm). Briefly, DNA fragments were proportion of resistant isolates between different animal
resolved by electrophoresis in 1% SeaKem Gold agarose gels with
a CHEF DRII machine (Bio-Rad), using 0.5X Tris-borate-EDTA as
hosts (average 23.7% difference) (Table 1). The
the buffer. Gels were run for 18 h at 14°C, using a linearly ramped prevalence of resistance ranged from nearly zero for
switching time from 2.2 s to 63.8 s and a voltage of 6.0 V/cm 2. After amikacin to a high of 84.4% for human isolates resistant
electrophoresis, the gels were stained in 400 ml of deionized water to sulfisoxazole and a high of 47.9% for animal isolates
containing 40 ul of 10 mg/ml of ethidium bromide for 20 min on a resistant to sulfisoxazole or tetracycline. We detected
rocker and destained three times for 20 min each with distilled
resistance to ceftazidime (a third-generation cephalo-
water. Bands were visualized by a UV transilluminator (Fisher
Scientific) and photographed using an Alpha imager (Alpha sporin) in one poultry isolate (7.1%).
Innotech Corporation, San Leandro, CA, USA). Digitalized gel Sample sizes precluded analysis across individual
images were analyzed using BioNumerics software version 4.0 antibiotics, but it is notable that there was no statistical
(Applied Maths, Sint-Martens-Latem, Belgium). Cluster analysis difference in the proportion of isolates that were resistant
was performed by using the Unweighted Pair Group Method using to ≥ 1 antibiotic for human clinical (84.6%) and non-
arithmetic Averages (UPGMA) based on Dice coefficients to
clinical (91.7%) isolates (Fisher’s exact test, P = 1.0).
quantify the similarities.
Human isolates were more likely to be resistant to ≥ 1
antibiotic compared with animal isolates (85.7 and 53.5%,
Survey of poultry producers respectively, Fisher’s exact test, P < 0.0001). The
average number of resistance phenotypes per isolate
During an eight week survey between April and June 2009, semi- was significantly higher for human (5.0), goat (4.0) and
structured questionnaires were administered to 30 poultry farmers
randomly selected from six local governing areas of the Ibadan
poultry (3.4) compared with cattle (2.4) and swine (2.0)
metropolis. Data was obtained for management practices including (one-way ANOVA, P<0.0001; Tukey-Kramer multiple
commonly used antibiotics, indications for use, sources and comparison test, P<0.05).
 Nsofor et al. 4649

Table 2. Distribution of multidrug resistance phenotypes amongst human and animal isolates collected in Nigeria.

Human Animal
Antibiotic resistance phenotype
Number Percent (%) Number Percent (%)
None 11 14.3 33 46.5
Am a 0 0.0 1 1.4
AmCGmKSxtSTAmcNalG 1 1.3 1 1.4
AmCGmKSxtSTNalG 1 1.3 0 0.0
AmCGmSxtSTNalG 2 2.6 0 0.0
AmCSxtSG 0 0.0 2 2.8
AmCSxtSTAmcG 0 0.0 3 4.2
AmCSxtSTAmcNalG 2 2.6 1 1.4
AmCSxtSTG 3 3.9 0 0.0
AmCSxtSTNalG 4 5.2 2 2.8
AmGmKAnSxtSTAmcNalG 0 0.0 1 1.4
AmGmKSxtSTAmcNalG 6 7.8 1 1.4
AmGmKSxtSTNalG 1 1.3 0 0.0
AmGmKSxtTAmcNalG 0 0.0 1 1.4
AmKSxtSAmcNalGCaz 1 1.3 0 0.0
AmSxtSNalG 1 1.3 0 0.0
AmSxtSTAmcG 15 19.5 1 1.4
AmSxtSTG 15 19.5 11 15.5
AmSxtTAmcG 1 1.3 3 4.2
AmSxtTAmcNalGCaz 0 0.0 1 1.4
AmSxtTG 8 10.4 1 1.4
AmTG 0 0.0 1 1.4
CSxtTG 3 3.9 3 4.2
G 1 1.3 0 0.0
SxtSG 0 0.0 1 1.4
T 1 1.3 3 4.2
Total 77 100 71 100
a
Am = ampicillin; Amc = amoxicillin/clavulanic acid; An = amikacin; C = chloramphenicol; Caz = ceftazidime; G = sulfisoxazole; Gm =
Gentamicin; K = kanamycin; Nal = nalidixic acid; S = streptomycin; Sxt = trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole; and T = tetracycline.

We detected 26 different resistance phenotypes with 22 the PFGE data grouped 52.4% of isolates into clusters
having >1 trait (Table 2). Approximately 50% of human having ≥3 isolates. A slight majority of human isolates
isolates were classified into one of three resistance (53.3%) were found in human dominated clusters (>50%)
phenotypes that included a core resistance to ampicillin, while only 38.0% of animals isolates were found in animal
trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline and sulfixo- dominated clusters.
xazole. Resistance phenotypes for animals were more
diverse with the largest proportion (15.5%) sharing the
same core resistance traits as described above with the Poultry practices survey
addition of resistance to streptomycin (Table 2). The
PFGE analysis showed that animal isolates were In total we interviewed 30 poultry producers to assess
interspersed without any clear host association (data not their animal husbandry and antibiotic use practices. The
shown). Interestingly, two clusters of human isolates majority of producers had primary (16.7%) or secondary
(n=18 and n=15 isolates) were mostly distinct from (36.7%) education with an additional 20% having earned
animal isolates and included both human clinical and a secondary education diploma or certificate. The
non-clinical E. coli. Both clusters were comprised of remaining farmers had some university experience
isolates from geographically separated parts of the (13.3%) while 2 (6.7%) were veterinarians. Two other
country indicating that there was no spatial separation in producers did not disclose their education experience.
the distribution of antibiotic resistant E. coli from humans. The majority of producers (64%) had >10 years of poultry
Using an arbitrarily selected 85% similarity threshold for farming experience, with an average of 14.6 years.
4650 Afr. J. Microbiol. Res.

100

Percent of farms reporting antibiotic use

80

60

40

20

0
illin

in
e
lin

cin
n
l

in
in

es
o

on

yci

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ac
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icil

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olid

tom

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Ty
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flo

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Pe
Am

rof
mp

raz

ro
ep

tra
Ge
En
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Str
a

Fu

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lor
Ch

Figure 1. Percent of Nigerian poultry producers (n=30 total) reporting use of different antibiotics.

Sixty percent (n = 18) of farmers practiced a “deep selling poultry products for human consumption.
litter” system while 23.3% (n = 7) practiced both deep Producers typically purchased antibiotics from retail
litter and a “battery cage” system to house their flocks. sources.
The median flock population was 4,500 (range=250 to To better understand the motivation for antibiotic use,
65,000) birds with 83.3% of farmers considered “large- we also attempted to identify the most common infectious
scale” producers. All the respondents engaged in self- disease challenges that are faced by poultry producers
milling of feed for their flocks and all farms reported use and the history of antibiotic use in the flocks. The majority
of at least two antibiotics. The majority of producers used (93.3%) of the farmers diagnosed disease conditions
at least three antibiotics (n=15) while seven other based on clinical signs and post mortem findings while
producers reported using between four and six different 6.7% engaged laboratory confirmation and antibiotic
antibiotics. The majority of producers (87.7%) routinely sensitivity tests for bacterial isolates. There was a diverse
added antibiotics to the feed for disease prevention and array of infectious disease challenges including chronic
to improve production. Tetracyclines (oxytetracycline and respiratory disease (etiology unknown) and more specific
chlortetracycline) were the most commonly used bacterial and viral diseases (Figure 2).
antibiotic (Figure 1). Approximately, 50% of producers
also used gentamicin while approximately 20% of
producers employed fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin or DISCUSSION
enrofloxacin) and chloramphenicol. A majority of
respondents (86.7%) did not engage the services of a One of the strengths of the current study is that we
veterinarian for disease diagnosis or for drug restricted our analysis to only one E. coli isolate per fecal
prescriptions and use. Records of diseases and sample thereby maximizing biological independence
treatments were not available in most of the surveyed between isolates and thereby limiting bias from any
farms. A majority of producers (63.3%) were not aware of single individual. The independence between isolates
or did not adhere to antibiotic withdrawal periods before was consistent with the generally high diversity of PFGE
 Nsofor et al. 4651

100

80
Percent of farms reporting

60

40

20

0
V
n

ra

id
sis

id
n

sis
se

se
za
tio

tio

IBD

ho

ho
ole

ea

ea
idio

ho
or y
sta

fec

typ

typ
dis

dis
ch

int
c

cc
nfe

c in

elm
wl

wl
us

wl

ry
tle
Co
ei

Fo

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Fo
sa
ctio

ato
as

H
Lic

he
wc
lk

pir
e

Yo
Inf

Ot
Ne

es
ic r
ron
Ch

Figure 2. Percent of Nigerian poultry producers (n=30 total) reporting occurrence of different infectious disease
or parasite problems. Disease classifications include chronic respiratory disease (cough; suspect Mycoplasma);
helminthosis (parasitic worm infestation); Newcastle disease (suspect avian paramyxovirus); coccidiosis (bloody
diarrhea caused by bacterium or protozoa); infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV); fowl cholera (pasteurellosis);
yolk sac infection (salmonellosis or colibacillosis); infectious coryza (suspect Hemophilus paragallinarum); other
fowl typhoid (suspect non-bloody diarrhea salmonellosis); lice infestation.

profiles detected in this study. Human isolates were Overall, it is clear that E. coli isolates from humans
mostly distinct from animal isolates by PFGE, and the were disproportionately more resistant to antibiotics
human isolates were collected from multiple geographic (85.7%) compared with E. coli isolates from animals
locations suggesting that there are probably distinct (53.5%). Furthermore, the majority of antibiotic resistant
sources of E. coli that colonize humans while animal isolates expressed multidrug resistance phenotypes (97
isolates are more diverse in origin. It is also important to and 89.5% for human and animal isolates, respectively).
note that human clinical isolates can represent a potential While it is impossible, from our data, to estimate selection
source of bias because isolates collected at hospitals coefficients for different antibiotic resistance traits, the
may have been enriched in numbers due to antibiotic difference in proportion of resistance from human and
treatment prior to collection. If this was a significant bias animal isolates is consistent with a higher degree of
in our study we would expect the proportion of resistant selection in the human population. It is also notable that
strains to be significantly lower for non-clinical isolates. the E. coli collected from livestock and poultry came from
Nevertheless, while our non-clinical isolate collection was adult- or market-age animals and is generally higher than
limited in number, the proportion of antibiotic resistant E. reported for similar studies in developed countries
coli was not different from clinical samples. (Khachatryan et al., 2004; Sato et al., 2005; Cho et al., 2007).
4652 Afr. J. Microbiol. Res.

Thus, the high level of resistance documented for selecting for antibiotic resistant bacteria and it will
livestock and poultry in the current study is not biased by certainly contribute to trade complications. A number of
the tendency for younger animals to harbor dispropor- producers also used either ciprofloxacin or enrofloxacin,
tionately more resistant E. coli. On average, resistance both of which are fluoroquinolones. In the U.S,
among animal isolates was ordered with swine < cattle < fluoroquinolones have been banned from use in poultry
poultry < goat. This finding combined with the diversity of primarily because of the potential to select for
resistance phenotypes across different animal groups ciprofloxacin resistant Campylobacter jejuni (Delsol et al.,
(Table 1) is consistent with distinct ecologies and 2004; DHHS, 2005; Hurd et al., 2010). In general,
husbandry practices between different food animal fluoroquinolone use should be limited whenever possible
sectors, although unequal sampling of animal populations because of the high probability of de novo resistance
across geographic space is a confounding factor in this arising from simple chromosomal point mutations. There
study. Regardless, our samples were collected from is also growing evidence of proliferation of quinolone
facilities that purportedly used little or no antibiotics. If resistance in Nigeria including detection of horizontally
correct, our findings highlight the fact that once antibiotic transmitted resistance traits (Aypak et al., 2009; Fortini et
resistant traits are circulating in a population, a variety of al., 2011).
factors may favor their long-term persistence even in the It is important to note that the Nigerian poultry industry
absence of antibiotic selection pressure (Khachatryan et is constantly faced with challenges of high input costs,
al., 2006; Singer et al., 2006). low egg production, diseases and pests, low and poor
The Nigerian livestock industry provides about 94% of performing breeds, poor weight gain/feed conversion,
the animal protein that is consumed in Nigeria and this feeding and management problems and lack of capital
sector of the economy contributes 4-5% of the national (Isiaka, 1998; van Eekeren et al., 2004). Fowl typhoid is
gross domestic product (FGN, 2009). The poultry sector one example of a significant problem for poultry
accounts for about 25% of local meat production in producers in developing countries; in Nigeria an
Nigeria and poultry represents a source of quality protein estimated 18.4% of flocks are affected (Mbuko et al.,
and employment for a sizeable proportion of the 2009). Prevention and treatment of salmonellosis and
populace. About 20% of the poultry population in Nigeria other bacterial infections are major challenges of
is reared within intensive commercial systems, most of profitable poultry production and this is a primary
which are located in the southwestern Nigeria with motivation for the heavy reliance on antibiotics (Kabir et
Ibadan being the main entry point for imported poultry al., 2004). In developing countries including Nigeria,
products. This is also the location of the major poultry antibiotics are easily acquired and used without
breeders and retailers that distribute poultry around the veterinary oversight (Dina and Arowolo, 1991; Kabir et
country and beyond (Owoade et al., 2004). al., 2004). While potentially important to sustain
Consequently, poultry represents an important production, these practices most likely contribute to
component of the Nigerian diet and a potentially development and expansion of antibiotic resistance.
important source of selection for antibiotic resistant In 2001, the WHO launched the first global strategy to
bacteria. develop antibiotic use and resistance surveillance
Our surveys found that the majority of the poultry programs and networks across several regions of the
farmers routinely used antibiotics as feed additives to world (Simonsen et al., 2004). There is no coordinated
prevent and treat infections and to boost production effort, however, to monitor or control antibiotic resistance
without veterinarian oversight. These practices, which in Nigeria and there is no coordinated intervention effort
appear to be common among developing countries to provide resources and education to livestock and
(Mitema et al., 2001; Kabir et al., 2004), contribute to poultry producers to help them limit their need for
both selection for antibiotic resistance and probably antibiotics. Clearly, there are multiple opportunities for
introduce antibiotic residues into local food products meaningful interventions to improve production and
(Riviere and Spoo, 1995). The most widely used animal welfare in Nigeria while reducing the dependence
antibiotic reported by poultry farmers was a tetracycline on antibiotics for successful food production. This effort is
compound, which is consistent with other studies in probably needed within most developing countries before
developing countries (Al-Ghamdi et al., 2000; Nonga et efforts to control antibiotic resistance within any single
al., 2010). Respondents to our survey indicated that they country are going to prove effective.
used several antibiotics that could be problematic from a
public health perspective. For instance, the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration has prohibited use of ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
chloramphenicol in food animals (DHHS, 2010a) in part
because residues in meat products can cause aplastic The MacArthur Foundation provided travel support for I.
anemia and other blood disorders in humans (Fraunfelder O. Olatoye. This work was supported in part by the Paul
et al., 1993; Young and Alter, 1994). Consequently, this G. Allen School for Global Animal Health, the Agricultural
practice represents a genuine public health risk beyond Animal Health Program, and the Agricultural Research
 Nsofor et al. 4653

Center at Washington State University, Pullman, WA. Fanimo AO, Osinowo OA. March 21-26, 1998, Gateway Hotel,
Abeokuta, Nigeria, Nigerian Society for Animal Production:223-225.
Bacteroides and other genera in the human colon. Appl Environ
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