FAO is assisting the Veterinary Service of Kyrgyzstan to improve laboratory capacities and surveillance of antimicrobial resistance
Bishkek – The emergence of antimicrobial resistance is increasingly limiting the possible treatments for human and veterinary medicine. This problem is also relevant for Kyrgyzstan. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has organized a training for staff of the Veterinary Diagnostics and Examination Centres of the Veterinary Service of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Kyrgyz Republic, so that they can determine the sensitivity to antimicrobials in a timely and effective manner.
This training course was organized within the framework of the FAO Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and more specifically it was supported by the project “Reducing the advance of AMR in food and agriculture,” which aims to combat the emergence and spread of drug-resistant microorganisms in Eastern Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia. The week-long training was attended by specialists from the Veterinary Diagnostics and Expertise Centres from Bishkek and Osh, as well as veterinary laboratories from Batken, Jalal-Abad, Naryn, Issyk-Kul and Chu regions.
“Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global problem,” said International Technical Adviser at the FAO Representative Office in Kyrgyzstan Kuvatbek Bapayev. “FAO supports the Ministry of Agriculture, including information support, in containing the spread of antimicrobial resistance in the country, helping to implement regulatory mechanisms, effective monitoring programmes to identify resistant bacterial strains and ensure hygiene and sanitation in the food chain.”
Extent of the Problem
As it was noted in the training, antibiotics play a critical role in reducing morbidity and mortality among both humans and animals. However, the emergence of new strains of microorganisms resistant to these drugs reduces their effectiveness over time. This trend is of concern to both producers and patients affected, as a proportion of all drug-resistant infections in humans are linked to food or animal sources. A key challenge for all livestock and aquaculture sectors is therefore to reduce the misuse of antibiotics, for example for preventive purposes or as growth agents.
“Good animal husbandry, effective biosafety and vaccination are important components of the prevention of infectious diseases,” noted Deputy Director of the Veterinary Service at the Ministry of Agriculture of the Kyrgyz Republic Almaz Sharshenbekov. “Good animal health and well-being reduce the number of infectious diseases and consequently minimize the need for antibiotics.”
Why do we need to determine antibiotic sensitivity?
According to international practice, before prescribing an antibacterial drug, a responsible veterinarian should take a sample, such as cow’s milk, and provide diagnostic material for antimicrobial sensitivity testing. The veterinarian should then use the results of the laboratory to prescribe the most appropriate treatment scheme.
As part of the theoretical training, the main types of laboratory methods were considered, and recommendations on the selection of best practices for specific tasks were presented. Participants were also introduced to modern approaches to data analysis and interpretation of results. The hands-on training included the preparation of samples, the use of reference strains and other important aspects of laboratory operations. Participants were given the opportunity to apply the acquired knowledge on detection and identification of the most common types of bacteria in practice, using the disc -diffusion method, when pathogenic micro-organisms are seeded into a nutrient medium, and on top are superimposed discs, antibiotic soaked. The result shows how much an antibiotic can cope with these bacteria.
“Monitoring is needed to understand the causes and trends of antibiotic resistance,” said the facilitator of the training, the head of the reference center for monitoring the residual amount of antibiotics in food raw materials and food products of the Research Institute of Epidemiology (Russia) Nina Kulikova. “Such monitoring should include the continuous collection of information on the rate of release of resistant strains. This is needed to oversee antibiotic resistance.”
The training was successful and received positive feedback from participants. According to their evaluation, the training allowed to increase the qualification of specialists of the centers of veterinary diagnostics.
“So much useful, understandable, interesting information. Despite my long experience, I have learned many useful tips, many moments doing intuitively began to understand why this is the right way,” said the participant of the training Nazira Akhmedova.
Kyrgyzstan and FAO are stepping up joint efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance
As part of the training, a solemn ceremony of transfer of equipment was also held. Within the framework of the FAO project, the Veterinary Diagnostics and Expertise Centers in Bishkek and Osh received modern equipment, reagents and consumables. This equipment is intended for carrying out a surveillance pilot study to determine the sensitivity to antimicrobial drugs in a large number of microorganisms isolated from samples collected in livestock and poultry farms. The AMR surveillance data together with the results obtained by the knowledge-attitude-practice studies on the use of antimicrobials in animal production value chains will inform future action to be taken by risk managers and policy makers in the country ensuring effective interventions to control and minimize AMR along the food chain.
