The relation between technical farm performance and antimicrobial use of broiler farms.

The aim of the present study was to explore the relation between both farm performance and antimicrobial use (AMU) of broiler farms. Farm performance was expressed as technical efficiency, obtained by using a bootstrap data envelopment analysis. AMU was expressed as treatment incidence. Cluster analysis is used to obtain groups of farms with similar characteristics regarding technical farm performance and AMU. Results indicate that the farms within the different clusters combine different technical farm performance and different levels of AMU. Between the clusters, significant differences were found in technical farm performance, AMU, the resource intensity of the number of animals at set-up, the number of antimicrobial treatments, the number of antimicrobial treatments related to either gut health or combined problems, and the number of antimicrobial treatments with either yellow or orange active substances. Farmers who combine high levels of AMU with high technical farm performance are likely to overestimate the real economic value of AMU. Proper coordination between the farmer and the veterinarian can be crucial in that case for reducing AMU. Farms with low performance are likely to have poor farm conditions. Improving those farm conditions can help reducing the need for AMU on this kind of farms. The farm-specific conditions have to be considered in future policies aimed at reducing AMU in livestock production.

Reducing risks of human exposure to antimicrobial resistance originating from livestock supply chains.

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest health threats for both humans and animals. This justifies the need for a conceptual framework that provides an integrated assessment of the measures and strategies that can be applied within livestock supply chains to reduce the risks of human exposure to resistant pathogens. The aim of this study is therefore to provide a comprehensive supply- chain-based conceptualisation that describes the main measures and strategies to reduce the risks of human exposure to resistant pathogens. The conceptual framework presented in this study makes a distinction between on-farm and beyond-farm decision-making. The on-farm decision-making context focuses on the strategies that can reduce antimicrobial use. The beyond-farm decision-making context focuses on the prevalence of (pathogenic) microorganisms. The focus of this framework is on Western European food production systems. A panel of Dutch experts on antimicrobial issues assessed various aspects of the framework, including correctness, completeness and consistency. They concluded that the conceptual framework provides a sound theoretical basis for economic decision support for policy-makers to reduce the risks of human exposure to resistant pathogens originating from livestock supply chains.

La résistance aux agents antimicrobiens constitue l'une des plus graves menaces pesant actuellement sur la santé tant humaine qu'animale. Ce constat justifie de concevoir un cadre conceptuel permettant de procéder à l'évaluation intégrée des mesures et des stratégies applicables tout au long de la chaîne d'approvisionnement de la filière élevage afin de réduire les risques d'exposition humaine à des agents pathogènes résistants. L'étude présentée par les auteurs a donc pour but de fournir une conceptualisation exhaustive fondée sur la chaîne d'approvisionnement et décrivant les principales mesures et stratégies de réduction des risques d'exposition humaine aux agents pathogènes résistants. Ce cadre conceptuel différencie deux contextes distincts de la prise de décision, d'une part les exploitations elles-mêmes et d'autre part les contextes extérieurs aux élevages. Les décisions prises dans les exploitations sont centrées sur les stratégies visant à réduire la quantité d'agents antimicrobiens utilisés. Les décisions relevant des contextes extérieurs aux élevages sont axées sur la prévalence des micro-organismes (pathogènes). Le cadre couvre les systèmes de production agroalimentaires d'Europe occidentale. Un groupe néerlandais d'experts de la lutte contre l'antibiorésistance a évalué ce cadre sous divers aspects, dont les paramètres de justesse, de complétude et de cohérence. Il en ressort que ce cadre conceptuel apporte aux responsables de l'élaboration des politiques une base théorique solide en soutien des décisions économiques visant à réduire les risques d'exposition humaine aux agents pathogènes résistants ayant pour source les chaînes d'approvisionnement du secteur de l'élevage.

La resistencia a los antimicrobianos es una de las mayores amenazas que pesan sobre la salud de humanos y animales, hecho que por sí solo justifica la necesidad de un marco teórico en el que inscribir una evaluación integrada de las medidas y estrategias que se pueden aplicar dentro de las cadenas de abastecimiento de ganado para reducir el riesgo de exposición humana a agentes patógenos resistentes. En este sentido, los autores describen un estudio encaminado a encuadrar la cadena de abastecimiento en coordenadas teóricas desde las cuales describir las principales medidas y estrategias para reducir el mencionado riesgo de exposición humana. El marco teórico presentado en este estudio distingue entre los ámbitos de decisión situados «en la explotación¼ y los que residen «más allá de la explotación¼. El ámbito decisorio de la explotación incide esencialmente en los dispositivos que puedan llevar a reducir el uso de antimicrobianos, mientras que las decisiones que trascienden el ámbito de la explotación se centran en la prevalencia de los microorganismos (agentes patógenos). El marco aquí presentado tiene por principal referencia los sistemas de producción alimentaria de Europa occidental. Tras evaluar varios de sus aspectos, en particular su corrección, su exhaustividad y su coherencia, un grupo sobre antimicrobianos formado por expertos neerlandeses llegó a la conclusión de que este marco conceptual proporciona sólidas bases teóricas en las que fundamentar, desde el punto de vista económico, las decisiones de las instancias de planificación para reducir el riesgo de exposición humana a agentes patógenos resistentes procedentes de las cadenas de abastecimiento de ganado.

The technical and economic impact of veterinary interventions aimed at reducing antimicrobial use on broiler farms.

Antimicrobial resistance is a global threat for both human and animal health. One of the main drivers of antimicrobial resistance is inappropriate antimicrobial use in livestock production. The aim of this study was to examine the technical and economic impact of tailor-made interventions, aimed at reducing antimicrobial use in broiler production. Historical (i.e., before intervention) and observational (i.e., after intervention) data were collected at 20 broiler farms. Results indicate that average daily gain and mortality generally increased after intervention, whereas feed conversion and antimicrobial use decreased. Economic performance after interventions was generally higher than before the interventions. Sensitivity analyses on price changes confirm the robustness of the findings.