Drivers of antibiotic use habits and animal disease incidence in smallholder livestock farms: evidence from a survey in Burkina Faso

Reducing nontherapeutic antibiotic (ABU) use in livestock animals has been identified as an important way of curbing the growth of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). However, this ABU can be an important disease management tool, and farmers may not feel safe to reduce it without simultaneous interventions to safeguard animal health. It is therefore important to determine a) if nontherapeutic ABU is important for averting livestock animal disease, b) which factors can encourage farmers to improve antibiotic stewardship on their own terms, and c) which factors can be paired with ABU reduction in order to safeguard against any animal health risks. We investigated these questions using data from the AMUSE survey, which is designed to evaluate knowledge, attitudes and practices relating to AMR in smallholder livestock farms. Our sample covered 320 animal herds from 216 smallholder livestock farms in Burkina Faso, with species including poultry, small ruminants, and cattle. The determinants of the likelihood of animal disease and nontherapeutic ABU were investigated using logistic regression. We found that nontherapeutic ABU was positively associated with animal disease, although the potential endogeneity of this relationship should be investigated further. We also found that going primarily to a public veterinarian for animal health services was associated with a lower likelihood of nontherapeutic ABU. We also found some evidence that going to public veterinarians, and a higher level of formal education, were associated with a lower likelihood of animal disease. These findings support the expansion of public veterinary services as a way to encourage antibiotic stewardship, and to safeguard against any animal health risks associated with ABU reduction.