Objectives: This study assessed antibiotic prescribing patterns in primary healthcare facilities and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) profiles of commensal and enterococci isolated from pregnant women and children under 5 years of age.
Materials And Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Lusaka and Ndola districts of Zambia. Prescription pattern data were obtained from hospital pharmacies.
Despite the escalating burden of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the global response has not sufficiently matched the scale and scope of the issue, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). While many countries have adopted national action plans to combat AMR, their implementation has lagged due to resource constraints, dysfunctional multisectoral coordination mechanisms and, importantly, an under-recognized lack of technical capacity to adapt evidence-based AMR mitigation interventions to local contexts. AMR interventions should be tailored, context-specific, cost-effective and sustainable.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlobally, the inappropriate dispensing and use of antibiotics in animals has contributed to the development of bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In Zambia, there is insufficient information among community pharmacy professionals on antibiotic use (ABU) and AMR in food-producing animals. This study assessed community pharmacy professionals' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding poultry antibiotic dispensing, use, and bacterial AMR in the Lusaka district of Zambia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: This study investigated antimicrobial susceptibility and genomic profiling of isolated from bloodstream infections at a tertiary referral hospital in Lusaka, Zambia, 2018-2019.
Method: This was a prospective hospital-based study involving routine blood culture samples submitted to the microbiology laboratory at the University Teaching Hospital. Identification of and determination of antimicrobial susceptibility profiles was achieved through conventional and automated methods.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global public health problem affecting animal and human medicine. Poultry production is among the primary sources of income for many Zambians. However, the increased demand for poultry products has led to a subsequent increase in antimicrobial use.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGroup antimicrobial administration is used to control disease in livestock, but we have little insight into how this impacts antimicrobial resistance (AMR) gene dynamics. Here, a longitudinal study was carried out during a single production cycle on a commercial pig unit with high historic and current antimicrobial usage. Quantitative PCR, 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding and shotgun metagenomic sequencing were used to track faecal AMR gene abundance and diversity and microbiome alpha diversity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
March 2020
The nutritional and economic potentials of livestock systems are compromised by the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance. A major driver of resistance is the misuse and abuse of antimicrobial drugs. The likelihood of misuse may be elevated in low- and middle-income countries where limited professional veterinary services and inadequately controlled access to drugs are assumed to promote non-prudent practices (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntibiotic treatment of sick dairy cattle is critical for the sustainability of this production system which is vital for food security and societal prosperity in many low and middle-income countries. Given the increasingly high levels of antibiotic resistance worldwide and the challenge this presents for the treatment of bacterial infections, the rational use of antibiotics in humans and animals has been emphatically recommended in the spirit of a "One Health" approach. The aim of this study was to characterize antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes and their frequencies from whole genome sequences of isolated from both dairy cattle and human patients in central Zambia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFType 1 fimbriae (T1F) are well characterised cell surface organelles expressed by Escherichia coli and required for adherence to mannosylated host tissue. They satisfy molecular Koch's postulates as a virulence determinant and a host-adapted role has been reinforced by reports that T1F expression is repressed at submammalian temperatures. Analysis of a group of 136 environmental and animal E.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Health care Associated Infections (HAIs) are a major public health problem in both developed and developing countries. They pose a severe impact in resource-poor settings, where the rate of infection is estimated to be relatively high. Therefore, this study was conducted to establish empirical evidence related to HAIs in Zambia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study focused on the use of antibiotics on small, medium and commercial-sized dairy farms in the central region of Zambia and its relationship to antibiotic resistance in Escherichia coli. A stratified random sample of 104 farms was studied, representing approximately 20% of all dairy farms in the region. On each farm, faecal samples were collected from a random sample of animals and a standardised questionnaire on the usage of antibiotics was completed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFConcentrations of Pb, Cd, and other metals in tissues of 17 free-range and 32 commercial broiler chickens from the Kabwe mining town in Zambia were determined. Mean concentrations of Pb and Cd exceeded maximum levels for human consumption in some organs including muscle (Pb only) in free-range chickens, in contrast to low levels in broiler chickens. Human consumers in Kabwe could be exposed to Pb and Cd in free-range chickens.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Republic of Zambia is rich in mineral resources, such as zinc (Zn) and lead (Pb), and mining is a key industry in Zambia. A previous study of Pb pollution in Kabwe, one of the main mining areas, found that soil was contaminated with high levels of toxic metals over a substantial area. In the present study, the authors focus on toxic metal pollution in cattle, one of the most important domestic animals in Zambia.
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