Effectiveness of antimicrobial interventions directed at tackling antimicrobial resistance in animal production: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: In the last decades, a more prudent and rational use of antimicrobials has been progressively directed towards animal production to reduce antimicrobial selective pressure and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in microorganisms and safeguard the antimicrobial efficacy of treatments in human medicine. This systematic review evaluated the effectiveness of interventions that have been applied to reduce or improve veterinary antimicrobial usage and aimed at decreasing resistant bacteria in chicken broiler and pig production contexts.

Methods: Original articles were identified by searching PubMed™, Scopus™, The Cochrane Library™, and Web of Science™, and grey literature by searching DANS EASY™, WorldCat™ and RCAAP™.