Use of Antibiotics and Knowledge of Antibiotics Resistance by Selected Farmers in Oyo Town, Nigeria

Abstract

This survey was carried out to investigate antibiotics usage and knowledge of antibiotic resistance among farmers in Oyo town, Nigeria. Data was collected using a questionnaire and interviews. A snowball sampling technique was used to select 150 farmers and veterinary drug shop owners. The farmers were involved in cattle, fish and poultry farming. The farmers administered antibiotics to their animals when the animals were sick (curative), to prevent secondary bacterial infection after a viral infection and on healthy animals (for prophylaxis). Majority of the respondents had easy access to antibiotics and information about them. On average, farmers had some knowledge about antibiotics resistance but not on how it spread. About 62% of the respondents believed that antibiotic resistance was a problem of other countries not Nigeria. They also did not believe that sub-optimal dosing of antibiotics leads to resistance. It was concluded that there is need for public awareness on the risk of misuse of antibiotics in animals and of consuming livestock products with unsafe levels of antibiotic residues. Keywords: Antibiotics; Drug resistance; Livestock