A study was conducted on 37 randomly selected broiler poultry farmers in Rwanda to characterize the production system using pre-tested semi-structured questionnaires. The data were processed in SPSS and presented as means, percentages and ranges in tables and text. All respondents kept Cobb breed and young stock was mainly (73 %) imported from abroad. The majority of respondents were males (68 %) and most farmers had attended only primary level of education (40.5 %). Most of the farms were in the peri-urban (48.6 %) and urban (37.8 %) areas and hired male youth (62.2 %) mainly aged 19–35 years. The majority of respondents (68 %) kept less than 500 birds per batch. Recordkeeping was well practiced (91.9 %) and (62.6 %) had permanent poultry houses and all farmers used deep litter system. Purchased feedstuffs were reportedly (92 %) mixed at farm level as the main feed resource. Maize bran was reported (97.06 %) the main, basal feedstuff. The mortality rates of chick and growers were 12.3 and 9.4 %, respectively. The slaughter age was reportedly 60 days with an average dressing percentage of 75.67 %. The main challenges reported were scarcity and unaffordability of quality feeds (59.5 %), lack of market access (45 %) and lack of credit (21 %). The farmers had various views on improving broiler production in Rwanda ranging from establishing feed processing industries 62.2 %, improving marketing facilities 35.1 %, increasing availability of day-old chick and access credit 27 %, to intensification of farmer training 16.2 %.

In several developing countries, studies on antimicrobial resistance among bacteria from food animals are rare mostly because of under-resourced laboratories. The objective of this study was to develop and field-test a low cost protocol to estimate the isolate- and sample-level prevalence of resistance to critically important antibiotics among Escherichia coli and Salmonella isolated from dairy cattle feces. Using a predesigned protocol, fecal samples were collected to isolate non-type-specific E. coli and Salmonella using selective media without antibiotic supplements. Besides, samples were screened for E. coli and Salmonella isolates not susceptible to third-generation cephalosporins and quinolones using selective media supplemented with cefotaxime (1.0 μg/mL) and ciprofloxacine (0.5 μg/mL), respectively. All bacterial isolates were further tested for antibiotic susceptibility using disk diffusion. Bacterial isolates not susceptible to third-generation cephalosporins were tested for extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) phenotype using the combination disk test. Molecular methods were performed on selected bacterial isolates to identify and distinguish genetic determinants associated with the observed phenotypes. Among 85 non-type-specific E. coli isolated from MacConkey agar without antibiotics, the isolate-level prevalence of resistance to tetracycline was the highest (8.2%). Among 37 E. coli recovered from MacConkey agar with cefotaxime, 56.8% were resistant ceftriaxone. Among 22 E. coli isolates recovered from MacConkey agar with ciprofloxacin, 77.3% and 54.5% were resistant to nalidixic acid and ciprofloxacin, respectively. Sixteen Salmonella were isolated and only one demonstrated any resistance (i.e., single resistance to streptomycin). Among E. coli isolates not susceptible to ceftriaxone, an AmpC phenotype was more common than an ESBL phenotype (29 versus 10 isolates, respectively). Whole genome sequencing showed that phenotypic profiles of antibiotic resistance detected were generally substantiated by genotypic profiles. The tested protocol is suited to detecting and estimating prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria isolated from food animal feces in resource-limited laboratories in the developing world.

In Rwanda, information on antibiotic resistance in food animals is scarce. This study was conducted to detect and phenotypically characterize antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli and Salmonella in feces of cattle, goats, pigs, and poultry in the East province of Rwanda. We isolated non-type-specific (NTS) E. coli and Salmonella using plain culture media. In addition, we used MacConkey agar media supplemented with cefotaxime at 1.0 μg/mL and ciprofloxacin at 0.5 μg/mL to increase the probability of detecting E. coli with low susceptibility to third-generation cephalosporins and quinolones, respectively. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed using the disk diffusion test. Among 540 NTS E. coli isolates, resistance to tetracycline was the most frequently observed (35.6%), followed by resistance to ampicillin (19.6%) and streptomycin (16.5%). Percentages of NTS E. coli resistant to all three antibiotics and percentages of multidrug-resistant strains were higher in isolates from poultry. All isolated Salmonella were susceptible to all antibiotics. The sample-level prevalence for resistance to third-generation cephalosporins was estimated at 35.6% with all third-generation cephalosporin-resistant E. coli, expressing an extended-spectrum beta-lactamase phenotype. The sample-level prevalence for quinolone resistance was estimated at 48.3%. These results provided a baseline for future research and the development of integrated surveillance initiatives.

Estimating antibiotic consumption in animals is fundamental to guiding decision-making and research on controlling the emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in humans, animals, and the environment. This study aimed to establish importation trends of antibiotics for veterinary use in Rwanda between 2019 and 2021. Data was collected from the Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority’s database. Quantities of imported antibiotic active ingredients were computed using the information extracted from the issued import licenses. These quantities were subsequently adjusted per animal biomass. In total, 35,291.4 kg of antibiotics were imported into Rwanda between 2019 and 2021, with an annual mean of 11,763.8 ± 1,486.9 kg. The adjustment of imported quantities of antibiotics per animal biomass revealed that 29.1 mg/kg, 24.3 mg/kg, and 30.3 mg/kg were imported in 2019, 2020, and 2021 respectively. A slight but not statistically significant decline in antibiotic importation was noted in 2020 (p-value = 0.547). Most of the imported antibiotics were indicated to be used in food-producing animals (35,253.8 kg or 99.9% of the imported antibiotics). Tetracyclines (17,768.6 kg or 50.3%), followed by sulfonamides (7,865.0 kg or 22.3%) and aminoglycosides (4,071.1 kg or 11.5%), were the most imported antibiotics over the studied period. It was noted that 78.9% of the imported antibiotics were categorized as highly important antimicrobials for human medicine. This study established a generalized overview of the importation of antibiotics for veterinary use in Rwanda. These results can serve as guidance for the control of antibiotic misuse. They can be used to make a correlation between antibiotic importation, antibiotic consumption, and the occurrence of antibiotic resistance in the country.

La résistance aux antibiotiques est devenue une préoccupa­tion de santé publique mondiale car un grand nombre de bactéries résistantes émergent continuellement. Les animaux ont été signalés comme l’une des sources de bactéries résistantes aux antibiotiques qui peuvent être transférées aux humains. Afin d’enrichir les données sur la résistance aux antibiotiques chez les animaux au Rwanda, une étude transversale a été menée dans la province de l’Est et dans la ville de Kigali pour isoler Escherichia coli présent dans des élevages de volailles en plein air et dans des élevages commerciaux. Des échan­tillons de matières fécales ont été prélevés dans 294 fermes avicoles et des souches d’E. coli ont été isolées et identifiées. Au total, 241 isolats d’E. coli ont été soumis à un test de sen­sibilité aux antibiotiques en utilisant cinq antibiotiques (gen­tamicine, streptomycine, rifampicine, doxycycline et érythro­mycine). L’utilisation d’antibiotiques chez les volailles était faible dans les élevages de volaille en plein air (30,9 %) com­parativement aux élevages de poules pondeuses et de pou­lets de chair (100 %). Parmi les 151 éleveurs qui ont déclaré utiliser des antibiotiques chez les volailles, près de la moitié (49,7 %) ont toujours utilisé des antibiotiques sur ordonnance vétérinaire. Sur les 241 isolats d’E. coli, 43,2 % présentaient une résistance multiple à quatre des cinq antibiotiques testés. Presque tous les isolats (98,8 %) étaient résistants à l’érythro­mycine, 78,8 % étaient résistants à la streptomycine, 77,6 % étaient résistants à la doxycycline, 69,3 % étaient résistants à la rifampicine et quelques-uns seulement étaient résistants à la gentamicine (3,7 %). Aucune différence significative statis­tiquement n’a été observée en ce qui concerne la résistance des isolats aux antibiotiques selon le type de système d’éle­vage. Toutefois, la résistance des isolats à la doxycycline a été significativement plus élevée dans les fermes où l’utilisa­tion d’antibiotiques a été signalée (84 %) que dans les fermes où l’utilisation d’antibiotiques n’a pas été signalée (70 %). La résistance aux antibiotiques d’E. coli observée montre l’exis­tence d’une source potentielle de résistance qui peut être transférée aux bactéries pathogènes et avoir un impact sur les humains et les animaux.