Antibiotic use in the commercial poultry sector of Uganda and its public health implications: A cross-sectional survey

Introduction: Rising poultry demand is driving shifts towards intensive farming in the Global South, raising concerns about antibiotic use and food chain risks. This study examines the nature and extent of antibiotic use in Uganda's commercial poultry sector and quantifies antibiotic use at bird, farm, and national levels. Further the study estimates antibiotic residues in broiler, layer and duo purpose poultry meat at slaughter to evaluate food chain risks.
Methods: This cross-sectional survey used the World Organisation for Animal Health standards for monitoring quantities of antimicrobial agents used in food producing animals, on 374 commercial poultry farms with 187,798 birds randomly selected from the Northern, West Nile, Eastern and Southwestern sub regions of Uganda.
Results: The overall antibiotic use was 82kg per farm per cycle, with variability by poultry type, farm size and at regional level i.e., ~ 170mg more were used in broiler than dual-purpose birds, ~ 220mg more were used on broiler than layer farms, ~180g more used in the Southwestern than the Eastern region. Smaller farms (<=200 birds) use 1050mg more than larger farms (>=800 birds). Drug formulation (whether powdered or liquid) and access to veterinary extension services were associated with higher and lower antibiotic use respectively. 24.7 tons (~ 63% of the poultry annual antibiotic imports) are used by the commercial sector. Tetracycline and colistin sulphate are the most used, and we estimated 14% and 54% of broiler farms with non-adherence to their withdrawal periods, respectively, exceeding maximum residue levels of 150 ng/kg and 200 ng/kg of meat.
Conclusions: We estimate that the commercial poultry sector, that makes 30% of the national poultry population, uses 63% of imported antibiotics, with potential public health implications such as residues in the food chain. Interventions should be tailored to poultry production types hinged on robust veterinary extension services.