Table 3.
Perception on antimicrobials of students who agreed or strongly agreed to the questions across eight Faculty of Veterinary Medicines, Africa, 2014.
| Variables | Strongly agreed/agreed | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| African countries | Veterinary class | |||||||
| Nigeria n (%) | Sudan n (%) | South Africa n (%) | Pre-final n (%) | Final n (%) | Overall n (%) | χ2 | p-valuea | |
| 1. Antimicrobial resistance is an increasing global threat to human and animal health | 101 (98.1) | 3 (1.8) | 71 (100) | 97 (55.7) | 77 (44.3) | 174 (50.7) | 11.55 | 0.001b |
| 2. The misuse of antimicrobials by veterinary practitioners contributes significantly to antimicrobial resistance | 92 (89.3) | 22 (12.6) | 60 (84.5) | 91 (52.9) | 81 (47.1) | 172 (50.1) | 5.60 | 0.06 |
| 3. The misuse of antimicrobials by farmers contributes significantly to antimicrobial resistance | 94 (93.1) | 12 (7.0) | 70 (98.6) | 98 (56.0) | 77 (44.0) | 175 (51.5) | 13.99 | 0.001b |
| 4. The inappropriate use of antimicrobials in food-producing animals significantly contributes to antimicrobial resistance in human pathogens | 89 (87.3) | 17 (9.9) | 43 (60.6) | 84 (56.8) | 64 (43.2) | 148 (43.5) | 9.89 | 0.002b |
| 5. The inappropriate prescription of antimicrobials by human medical doctors is the main contributor to antimicrobial resistance in human pathogens | 76 (74.5) | 19 (11.1) | 67 (94.4) | 84 (51.9) | 78 (48.1) | 162 (47.5) | 3.01 | 0.083b |
| 6. I have received formal lectures on the rational use of antimicrobials during my under-graduate training | 100 (98.0) | 23 (13.2) | 70 (98.6) | 103 (53.6) | 89 (46.4) | 192 (56.1) | 8.28 | 0.004b |
| 7. My under-graduate training has prepared me well for making informed decisions when choosing an ideal antimicrobial for an individual patient | 92 (90.2) | 8 (4.6) | 54 (76.1) | 83 (53.9) | 71 (46.1) | 154 (44.9) | 5.43 | 0.02b |
| 8. As an individual in practice, I can significantly contribute to preventing an increase in antimicrobial resistance | 99 (97.1) | 13 (7.4) | 60 (84.5) | 98 (57.0) | 74 (43.0) | 172 (50.0) | 15.14 | <0.0001b |
| 9. The misuse of antimicrobials was evident in the facilities where I have trained | 41 (41.0) | 67 (39.4) | 17 (23.9) | 53 (42.4) | 72 (57.6) | 125 (37.1) | 1.40 | 0.237 |
| 10. Governing bodies in Africa are doing enough to help prevent a rise in antimicrobial resistance | 25 (24.5) | 74 (42.0) | 1 (1.4) | 42 (42.9) | 56 (57.1) | 100 (28.5) | 0.74 | 0.381 |
| 11. Educating lay people on the importance of antimicrobials as controlled scheduled compounds will have a positive effect on decreasing the rise in antimicrobial resistance | 85 (84.2) | 10 (5.8) | 62 (87.3) | 84 (53.8) | 72 (46.2) | 156 (45.9) | 5.81 | 0.016b |
| 12. The use of antimicrobials in the food-producing animal industry (farm animals) contributes more to antimicrobials resistance than their use in companion animals | 87 (85.3) | 34 (19.8) | 36 (50.7) | 76 (48.7) | 80 (51.3) | 156 (45.7) | 0.51 | 0.477 |
| 13. Banning the use of prophylactic antimicrobials in food-producing animals will have a negative effect on animal welfare | 53 (52.0) | 53 (31.9) | 32 (45.1) | 64 (46.7) | 73 (53.3) | 137 (40.9) | 0.002 | 0.963 |
| 14. Banning the use of prophylactic antimicrobials in food-producing animals will have a positive effect on decreasing the rise in antimicrobial resistance | 68 (68.7) | 45 (26.6) | 40 (56.3) | 77 (50.7) | 75 (49.3) | 152 (45.2) | 1.72 | 0.189 |
| 15. Banning the use of antimicrobials as growth promoters in food-producing animals will have a positive effect on decreasing the rise in antimicrobial resistance | 74 (74.0) | 27 (16.0) | 41 (57.7) | 71 (50.7) | 69 (49.3) | 140 (41.7) | 1.31 | 0.252 |
| 16. Improved use of vaccines, biosecurity measures, and hygiene will decrease the need for antimicrobials in the food-producing industry | 87 (86.1) | 7 (4.1) | 68 (95.8) | 87 (53.7) | 75 (46.3) | 162 (47.9) | 6.58 | 0.01b |
| 17. Adhering to meat and milk withdrawal periods will help decrease the rise in antimicrobial resistance in human pathogens | 94 (94.0) | 6 (3.5) | 48 (67.6) | 80 (54.1) | 68 (45.9) | 148 (43.8) | 5.65 | 0.017b |
| 18. Broad-spectrum antimicrobials are ideal to use as first-line antimicrobials | 62 (61.4) | 61 (36.3) | 27 (38.0) | 83 (56.1) | 65 (43.9) | 148 (44.0) | 9.91 | 0.002b |
| 19. Third and fourth generation antimicrobials should only be used as a last resort in treatment | 50 (51.0) | 23 (14.0) | 62 (87.3) | 76 (56.3) | 59 (43.7) | 135 (40.9) | 8.14 | 0.017b |
| 20. Long-acting antimicrobials are more ideal for use in food-producing animals than shorter-acting equivalents | 31 (30.7) | 81 (47.9) | 15 (21.1) | 58 (46.4) | 67 (53.6) | 125 (37.1) | 0.019 | 0.891 |
| 21. Cultures and antibiotic sensitivity testing (antibiograms should be done as frequently as possible to guide antimicrobial use) | 94 (93.1) | 8 (4.7) | 69 (97.2) | 91 (53.2) | 80 (46.8) | 171 (50.7) | 5.07 | 0.024b |
| 22. Financial constraints of animal owners in Africa disallow the use of cultures and antibiotic sensitivity testing e.g., antibiograms during an infection | 77 (77.0) | 21 (12.3) | 55 (77.5) | 82 (53.6) | 71 (46.4) | 153 (45.3) | 5.74 | 0.017b |
| 23. Drug legislation in Africa is on par with legislation in the rest of the world | 40 (39.2) | 82 (48.5) | 13 (18.3) | 66 (49.6) | 67 (50.4) | 133 (39.3) | 0.587 | 0.444 |
| 24. I am confident that new classes of antimicrobials will be available in the near future to solve current resistance problems | 57 (55.9) | 20 (11.8) | 5 (7.0) | 37 (45.1) | 45 (54.9) | 82 (24.2) | 0.187 | 0.665 |
| 25. The choice of an antimicrobial(s) by a veterinarian should largely be determined based on the cost implications to the farmers | 71 (69.6) | 51 (30.0) | 14 (19.7) | 63 (46.3) | 73 (53.7) | 136 (40.1) | 0.070 | 0.792 |
| 26. I am confident in my ability to choose the ideal antimicrobial agents for a specific patient/group of animals in order to ensure optimal efficacy and safety | 87 (86.1) | 8 (4.7) | 28 (39.4) | 59 (48.0) | 64 (52.0) | 123 (36.3) | 0.088 | 0.767 |
a
χ2 test;
b
p < 0.05 refers to the significant statistical difference in the percentage/proportions between pre-final year and final-year veterinary students who strongly agreed/agreed to the questions regarding antimicrobial resistance.