• Expert says cases are submitted come after farmers have tried treating the animals by themselves without seeking professional advice.
• Official says farmers have not only been misusing antibiotics to treat mastitis but to also to make milk last longer.
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Experts have raised concern over the misuse of antibiotics especially in treating mastitis.
Veterinary Services deputy director Dr Allan Azegele said the majority of the samples taken to their laboratories are from cases of mastitis.
This, he said, has led to the misuse of antibiotics as farmers treat animals using different drugs without seeking professional help.
He spoke to the Star on the phone on Monday.
Mastitis is the inflammation of the udder of a cow.
“Cases being submitted come after farmers have tried treating the animals by themselves without seeking professional advice. This is one way of misusing antibiotics because they are doing it without confirmed diagnosis on which organism is causing the infection and what drugs it is sensitive or resistance to,” he said.
World Animal Protection animal in farming manager Dr Victor Yamo said farmers treat the animal using antibiotics and do not observe withdrawal periods. “The residue ends up in the production system or the food chain,” he said.
Yamo confirmed that mastitis constitutes about 30-40 per cent of cases dairy farmers report to vets. He said the disease is driven more by animal husbandry, how milking is handled and management of the animal's udder.
He said farmers must adhere to the fundamental rights of the animal including the right to a clean shelter.
“If the housing area is not cleaned properly from the animal's droppings, this may contaminate the animal and micro-organisms from that bedding will end up in the udder of the animal leading to mastitis,” he said.
Yamo explained that farmers have not only been misusing antibiotics to treat mastitis but to also to make milk last longer.
“Some farmers have been using hydrogen peroxide or antibiotics. This is part of the reason why some milk processors in the country have stopped buying milk on volume, but based on quality. Part of the quality requirement is that the milk should have no additives including hydrogen peroxide, antibiotics or water (added to bulk the milk)."
The experts said antibiotics misuse is not limited to dairy but it also replicated in chicken and pig farming.
“This is how we end up with a lot of antibiotics in the food chain that is detrimental to our health. Antimicrobial resistance is now becoming a big issue because we are generating super-bugs that we don't have anything to control,” Yamo said.
He explained that a superbug is a bacteria that has been selected for a period of time and cannot be treated by any known drug. He said 10 million people will die from superbugs by 2050.
Azegele said, “We cannot rule out the use antibiotics but they should only be used after clinical examination and under guidance from a licensed professional."
Edited by R.Wamochie