Antibiotic Awareness Week in Cambodia: keeping antibiotics working
This year, World Antibiotic Awareness Week (WAAW) was conducted on 18-24 November 2019. It focused on the Global Action Plan that aims to cope with growing effects of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Cambodia joined this global campaign to combat one of the world most challenging issue by conducting a series of event, covering all concerned sectors including, human health, agriculture and the environment.
The General Directorate of Animal Health and Production (GDAHP) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) led events that focused on promotion of prudent and responsible antimicrobial use through good practices in agriculture, including livestock, aquaculture farming and crop production.
The strong need of using antimicrobials responsibly and the promotion of good practices
In Cambodia, AMR in agriculture is driven by a lack of data to guide veterinarians and animal health service providers in prescribing antimicrobials, limited capacity to diagnose and treat, poor application of biosecurity at the farm level, lack of awareness about the consequences of inappropriate antimicrobial use, and unrestricted access to antimicrobials. Additionally, improper and non-therapeutic use of antibiotics for disease prevention and growth promotion were observed among farmers and stockbreeders.
Antimicrobials, including antibiotics, are vital to defend people, animals and plants against infections. However, their misuse and overuse can lead to a failure as microbes develop resistance to these life-saving drugs. The emergence and mitigation of AMR is complex. It requires collective efforts of concerned stakeholders from communities to the policy level to address this global health issue.
Raising awareness and understanding of the risks of AMR and promotion of good practices among key stakeholders is one of the prioritized actions in Cambodia. Key stakeholders such as feed/veterinary pharmaceutical companies, veterinary clinics, livestock raiser association, livestock producers, academia and relevant government officials at national and sub-national levels were all mobilized at the forum which offered a questions and answers (Q&A) platform, staged by GDAPH and FAO on 19 November 2019.
This Q&A forum allowed participants to obtain an updated situation of the issue at hand, in addition to growing effects of AMR on animal health, welfare and productivity and its negative impacts on food security, food safety and public health.
This event, financially supported by GDAHP, demonstrated the government’s ownership and leadership to combat AMR in agriculture.
“Farmer actions to keep animal and people healthy and antimicrobials working”
Another event jointly organised by FAO and GDAHP was conducted in Battambang province on 21 November 2019 to highlight actions of key stakeholders, especially famers, “to keep animals and people healthy and antimicrobial working”. It was attended by more than 100 participants including village animal health workers (VAHW) and animal producers from all districts in Battambang province, officers of the Office of Animal Health and Production (OAHP), students, and national and sub-national government officials. The event called for actions from farmers and communities to reduce incidence of infection through effective sanitation, hygiene and infection prevention measures. A testimonial of good practices was shown through a visit to the Center of Excellence on Sustainable Agricultural Intensification and Nutrition (CE SAIN) Technology Park, known for its demonstration of new and promising technologies to farmers, within a context of small and medium-scale production systems.
Why are AMR dangerous?
Antimicrobials is used to describe drugs to treat parasitic, bacterial, viral and fungal infections. Antibiotic resistance is the ability of bacteria to survive treatment with antibiotics being used. Thus, Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is the general term for drug/antimicrobials resistance in microbes including the bacteria, as they have developed a resistance to drugs and therefore, they becoming ineffective. . In animal production, antimicrobials are not only used to treat animal diseases, but also as a disease prevention measure. The misuse and overuse of antimicrobials can speed up the rate at which AMR develops. Examples of misuse include using an incorrect dose or administering an antimicrobial at the wrong frequency or for an insufficient or excessive duration. Antimicrobial residues and antimicrobial resistant microorganisms in animal wastes also contaminate soil and water, further contributing to the emergence and spread of AMR.
In human health, there is a growing number of infections such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, and gonorrhoea which are becoming harder to treat as the antimicrobials designed to fight them become less effective. AMR leads to longer hospital stays, higher medical costs and increased mortality. If there is no intervention, AMR-associated human mortality is projected to soar to over 10 million annually by 2050. Asia is expected to account for half of this projected global mortality.