Poor biosafety and biosecurity practices and haphazard antibiotics usage in poultry farms in Nepal hindering antimicrobial stewardship

Poultry industry in Nepal has experienced remarkable growth in the last decade, but farm biosafety and biosecurity measures are often overlooked by farmers due to lack of knowledge or to save cost. As a result, farms often suffer from sporadic and regular outbreaks of many zoonotic diseases such as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), impacting production and creating public health challenges. Poor farm management practices, including overuse of antibiotics for prophylaxis and therapeutics, can complicate the spread of poultry diseases by creating and enhancing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) that is threating to both, poultry, and human health. We assessed biosafety, biosecurity risks and AMR stewardship in sixteen poultry farms located in four districts (Ramechhap, Nuwakot, Sindhupalchowk, and Kavre) surrounding densely populated Kathmandu valley. Risk assessment and AMR stewardship evaluation questionnaire were administered to formulate biosafety and biosecurity compliance matrix (BBCM). Risk assessment checklist assessed facility operations, personnel and standard operating procedures, water supply, cleaning and maintenance, rodent/pest control and farm record keeping. Oral and cloacal samples from the poultry were collected, pooled, and screened for eight poultry pathogens using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests. Based on BBCM, we identified one of the farms in Sindhupalchowk (Farm 4) having the most (BBCM score= 67%) and a farm in Kavre (Farm 3) to having the least (BBCM score= 12%) biosafety and biosecurity compliance. Although most of the farms (61.6%) followed general poultry farming practices, only half had clean and well-maintained farms. Personal safety standard procedure compliance (BBCM score = 42.4%) and rodent control (BBCM score = 3.1%) were the biggest gaps. At least one of either bacterial or viral pathogen was detected in all farms. Mycoplasma gallisepticum was the most common disease detected in all but one farm, followed by Mycoplasma synoviae. Although more than half of the farmers considered AMR a threat, over 26% of them used antibiotics as a preventive measure and 81% did not consider withdrawal period for antibiotics prior to processing of their meat products. Additionally, antibiotics classified as Watch and Restrict by the WHO were frequently used by the farmers to treat bacterial infections in their farms. Lack of awareness and inadequate enforcement of regulations have exacerbated the risk of disease transmission in farms and compromised antimicrobial stewardship.