Animal husbandry practices in rural Bangladesh: potential risk factors for antimicrobial drug resistance and emerging diseases.
Antimicrobial drug administration to household livestock may put humans and animals at risk for acquisition of antimicrobial drug-resistant pathogens. To describe animal husbandry practices, including animal healthcare-seeking and antimicrobial drug use in rural Bangladesh, we conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with key informants, including female household members (n = 79), village doctors (n = 10), and pharmaceutical representatives, veterinarians, and government officials (n = 27), and performed observations at animal health clinics (n = 3). Prevalent animal husbandry practices that may put persons at risk for acquisition of pathogens included shared housing and water for animals and humans, antimicrobial drug use for humans and animals, and crowding. Household members reported seeking human and animal healthcare from unlicensed village doctors rather than formal-sector healthcare providers and cited cost and convenience as reasons. Five times more per household was spent on animal than on human healthcare. Strengthening animal and human disease surveillance systems should be continued. Interventions are recommended to provide vulnerable populations with a means of protecting their livelihood and health.
Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland; International Center for Diarrheal Diseases Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Amira A
AA
Roess
Peter J
PJ
Winch
Nabeel A
NA
Ali
Afsana
A
Akhter
Dilara
D
Afroz
Shams
S
El Arifeen
Gary L
GL
Darmstadt
Abdullah H
AH
Baqui
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission; D001459:Bangladesh / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011203:Poverty; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D018634:Veterinarians / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D060753:Water Quality