Animal Health Sector-

AMR and Food Safety in

One Health

Dr. Suraj Subedi

Veterinary Standards and Drug Administration Office (VSDAO)
Directorate of Animal Health
Department of Livestock Services
Ministry of Agriculture, Land Management and Cooperative

11/17/2018 1
Food Security
World Food program
• People are considered food secure when they have
availability and adequate access at all times to
sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and
active life.
• Food security analysts look at the combination of the
following three main elements:
• Food availability
• Food access
• Food utilization

11/17/2018 2
Food safety and Feed safety
• Food safety is a scientific discipline describing handling,
preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent
food-borne illness.
• Foodborne illnesses are usually infectious or toxic in
nature and
• Caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical
substances entering the body through contaminated food
or water.
• Resistance to antibiotics is also a food safety problem
• Tackling antimicrobial resistance from a food safety
perspective
• Feed safety- While food related with human intake, feed
are with animals; safe and nutritious feed is basic welfare
requirement even for animals.
11/17/2018 3
The livestock industry of 21st century
• Industrialization and urbanization influenced
• Cost of animal have increased.
• High productive animals
• High selection pressure for favorable gene - Industry with
animals with less genetic diversity
• Intensive production system with artificial environments
• Various supplements to meet the high production demand
• Various environmental management strategies.
• Increasing production and productivity of animals

• Summarizing, humans have developed livestock industry with

various scientific tools to meet the increasing consumption
demand of people and their changing lifestyles.
11/17/2018 4
Livestock scope in Nepal
• Milk production (MT)- 1724823
• Total Meat Production (MT) – 303401
• Egg production (thousand) – 879501
• Wool production (kg) – 568729
• Ministry commitment (during establishment) – self sufficient
in production of egg, meat and milk in 1, 2 and 3 years
respectively.

• Self sufficient in egg production (based on national consumption) in

recent years.
• Huge scope in livestock sector, increasing demand in food from
animal origin and animal derived products
• Increase attraction of farmers to livestock farming and
livestock industry
• Commercialization of livestock industry
11/17/2018 5
Importance of Veterinary Service
• The Veterinary Services were set up to control livestock
diseases at the farm level.
• Emphasis on prevention and control of the major
epizootic diseases of livestock zoonotic diseases.
• scope of official animal health services normally increases
to address production diseases of livestock, where control
leads to more efficient production and/or better quality
animal products.
• epidemiological surveillance of animal diseases
• ensuring the safety and suitability of animal food
products.
• Role of the Veterinary Services has extended with
extension of livestock industry and upcoming challenges.

11/17/2018 6
Approaches to food Safety- VS
• The concept of the food production continuum

• Risk-based management systems

• Functions of Veterinary Services

• At the farm level

• Meat inspection

• Certification of animal products for international trade

• The roles of the Veterinary Services

• Optimizing the contribution of the Veterinary Services to food

safety

11/17/2018
OIE Terrestrial Health Code Chapter 6.1 7
World Organization of Animal
Health (OIE) - Role

11/17/2018 World Assembly of Delegates 8

11/17/2018 9
11/17/2018 10
 Therapeutic considerations in livestock

11/17/2018 11
AMR- A global issue

11/17/2018 12
AMR issues
• use of antibiotics in human and veterinary medicine
creates the conditions that allow resistant strains of
bacteria to prosper.
• a major driver for development of resistance is the fact
that in developing countries the drugs available may be
of poor quality (Guillemot, 1999 – Antibiotic use in humans and
bacterial resistance)
• While some agents that are used in livestock belong to
classes that have no counterpart in human medicine, this
is not the case for the most widely used agents: the
tetracyclines, penicillins, macrolides and sulphonamides.
• AMR issues- not only the food but also the environmental
contamination by excreted antibiotics

11/17/2018 13
AMR and livestock industry
• Antimicrobial resistance is a complex
phenomenon, especially in veterinary medicine,
• It is because of
• the number of animal species,
• the diversity of rearing environments, the differences
in the bacteria involved,
• the range of pathogenicity mechanisms and
• the complex epidemiology.
• A number of antimicrobials are available for use
in food producing animals and the mechanisms of
resistance are very diverse.

11/17/2018 14
Some mischievous myths
Among the many misconceptions about the role of
antibiotics in livestock are the allegations that:
• Antibiotics are only given to boost growth
• Antibiotics are only used to cover up poor husbandry
• Farm animals are a major source of human-resistant
infections
• Resistance is easily transmitted from animals to humans
• Critically important antibiotics are used routinely in
livestock
• Antibiotic residues are often found in food
• Organic producers don’t use antibiotics

Source: Antibiotics and antibiotic resistance in Veterinary Medicine – A guide to

understanding the issue and avoiding inaccurate and misleading information
11/17/2018 15
Page and Gautier, 2013 (Use of antimicrobial agents in livestock; Rev. sci. tech. Off. int. Epiz., 2012, 31 (1), 145-188)
11/17/2018 16
Example – Inappropriate conclusion
• The Baltimore Sun newspaper told its readers that antibiotic
products banned for use in poultry in 2005 were still being
used by US chicken farmers seven years later.
• The allegation was based on a study by researchers at Johns
Hopkins University which analysed samples of feather meal,
a by-product of the poultry meat industry used mainly as
fertiliser.
• The rendered down feathers of slaughtered chickens were
found to contain residues of various floroquinolone
antibiotics, suggesting that farmers were defying the ban.
• Yet due to the remarkable sensitivity of modern analytical
methods, the product was also found to contain residues of
caffine, antihistamines and the antidepressant Prozac.
• Since none of those products were supplied to broiler chickens,
the likely explanation was that they came from human sources,
through contamination of the ground water used in processing
the feathers.
Multisectoral collaboration and coordination is
11/17/2018
the only way forward 17
 Antimicrobial Resistance:
Key Prevention Strategies

Susceptible Pathogen
Antimicrobial-Resistant
Pathogen Pathogen
Prevent Prevent
Transmission Infection

Infection
Antimicrobial
Resistance
Effective
Optimize Use Diagnosis
& Treatment

Antimicrobial Use
11/17/2018 18
 The Tripartite Agreement

11/17/2018 19
The Codex Alimentarius
• The Codex Alimentarius, or "Food Code" is a collection of
standards, guidelines and codes of practice adopted by
the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
• The Commission, also known as CAC, is the central part of
the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme
• It and was established by FAO and WHO to protect
consumer health and promote fair practices in food trade.
• Codex texts on veterinary drugs and their residues,
food hygiene, animal feed, also contribute to tackle AMR
by preventing the development and minimizing the
transmission of AMR through the food chain.

11/17/2018 20
OIE codes and manuals relating
to AMR
OIE Terrestrial Health Code
Chapter 6- Public Health
• Chapter 6.6. - Introduction to the recommendations for
controlling antimicrobial resistance
• Chapter 6.7. - Harmonisation of national antimicrobial
resistance surveillance and monitoring programmes
• Chapter 6.8. - Monitoring of the quantities and usage
patterns of antimicrobial agents used in food-producing
animals
• Chapter 6.9. - Responsible and prudent use of
antimicrobial agents in veterinary medicine
• Chapter 6.10. - Risk analysis for antimicrobial resistance
arising from the use of antimicrobial agents in animals
11/17/2018 21
DLS standards related to food
safety

11/17/2018 22
 DLS Standards and food safety

• Animal transport standards

• Guidelines for parent farm hatchery
establishment
• Standards for commercial farms
• Egg transport standard
• Quarantine standard
• Animal welfare directive
etc…

DLS discouraging the use of AGPs in animal

production – import recommendation of
Antibiotics for use as AGP to be fixed is now
11/17/2018 not provided. (Since 2074) 23
 DLS activities contributing AMR
surveillance
Central Veterinary Laboratory, 2015

11/17/2018 24
Antibiotic Sensitivity- general

11/17/2018 Central Veterinary Laboratory, 2015 25

Antibiotic Sensitivity- milk

11/17/2018 Central Veterinary Laboratory, 2015 26

 Antibiotic Reside in meat and milk
Type of samples
Year Milk samples Meat samples
Collected Tested Complied% Collected Tested Complied%
2014 100 100 76 150 150 47
2015 84 84 79 80 80 77
2016 131 131 83 45 45 71
2017 251 251 92 180 180 46

Residue tested: Ampicillin, Amoxicillin, Bacitracin, Chlorotetracycline, Erythromycin,

Kanamycin, Oxytetracycline, Penicillin, Rifampicin, Sulfadimethoxine,Tetracycline and Tylosin.

Veterinary Public Health Office (VPHO) and Veterinary Standards and Drug
Administration Office (VSDAO) in drug residue testing including antimicrobial residues

11/17/2018 27
11/17/2018 28
 The crucial thing to understand
• Food safety- farm to fork concept; safe feed leads to safe food
• food safety identifies measures to minimize and prevent and
the entry of hazards at the early stages of the production chain,
including the primary production.
• The Veterinary Services of the country is key element in
various food safety issue as well Antimicrobial resistance issue.
• Collaborative efforts of all related stakeholders can only
safeguard the food safety issue including the global issue AMR.
• Political commitment, good governance, and relevant capacity
across sectors.
• Human and animal health sectors working together to align
policies, strategies and activities for collaborative effort.
• Collaboration with other stakeholders in the private and public
sectors.

11/17/2018 29
 Multi-sectorial Approach
Veterinary
(DLS/CVL)

Human Food
health Sector
(NPHL) One
One (DFTQC)
Heal
Health
th

Agriculture Medicine
sector (DDA)
11/17/2018 30
11/17/2018 We all have a role to play 31
11/17/2018 32