Assessment of Drivers of Antimicrobial Usage in Poultry Farms in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam: A Combined Participatory Epidemiology and Q-Sorting Approach

In the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, poultry farmers use high amounts of antimicrobials, but little is known about the drivers that influence this usage. We aimed to identify these drivers using a novel approach that combined participatory epidemiology (PE) and Q-sorting (a methodology that allows the analysis of the subjectivity of individuals facing a common phenomenon). A total of 26 semi-structured collective interviews were conducted with 125 farmers representative of the most common farming systems in the area (chickens, meat ducks, and mobile grazing ducks), as well as with 73 farmers' advisors [veterinarians, veterinary drug shop owners, and government veterinarians/commune animal health workers (CAHWs)] in five districts of Dong Thap province (Mekong Delta). Through these interviews, 46 statements related to the antimicrobials' perceived reliability, costs, and impact on flock health were created. These statements were then investigated on 54 individuals (28 farmers and 26 farmers' advisors) using Q-sorting interviews. Farmers generally indicated a higher propensity for antimicrobial usage (AMU) should their flocks encounter bacterial infections (75.0–78.6%) compared with viral infections (8.3–66.7%). The most trusted sources of advice to farmers were, in decreasing order: government veterinarian/CAHWs, their own knowledge/experience, veterinary drug shop owners, and sales persons from pharmaceutical and feed companies. The highest peak of AMU took place in the early phase of the production cycle. Farmers and their advisors showed considerable heterogeneity of attitudes with regards to AMU, with, respectively, four and three discourses representing their views on AMU. Overall, farmers regarded the cost of AMU cheaper than other disease management practices implemented on their farms. However, they also believed that even though these measures were more expensive, they would also lead to more effective disease prevention. A key recommendation from this finding would be for the veterinary authorities to implement long-term sustainable training programs aiming at reducing farmers' reliance on antimicrobials

Quantitative assessment of a spatial multicriteria model for highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 in Thailand, and application in Cambodia

International audienceThe Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 (HPAI) virus is now considered endemic in several Asian countries. In Cambodia, the virus has been circulating in the poultry population since 2004, with a dramatic effect on farmers' livelihoods and public health. In Thailand, surveillance and control are still important to prevent any new H5N1 incursion. Risk mapping can contribute effectively to disease surveillance and control systems, but is a very challenging task in the absence of reliable disease data. In this work, we used spatial multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) to produce risk maps for HPAI H5N1 in poultry. We aimed to i) evaluate the performance of the MCDA approach to predict areas suitable for H5N1 based on a dataset from Thailand, comparing the predictive capacities of two sources of a priori knowledge ( literature and experts), and ii) apply the best method to produce a risk map for H5N1 in poultry in Cambodia. Our results showed that the expert-based model had a very high predictive capacity in Thailand (AUC = 0.97). Applied in Cambodia, MCDA mapping made it possible to identify hotspots suitable for HPAI H5N1 in the Tonle Sap watershed, around the cities of Battambang and Kampong Cham, and along the Vietnamese border

Integrated approaches to health : concepts and experiences in framing, integration and evaluation of One Health and EcoHealth

Integrated approaches to health address health challenges arising from the intertwined spheres of humans, animals and ecosystems. This eBook is the product of an interdisciplinary effort to establish how One Health, EcoHealth and other integrated approaches to health are conceptualized, framed, implemented and evaluated today. It supplements the handbook for the evaluation of One Health, published by the COST Action “Network for Evaluation of One Health (NEOH)” with in depth reflections on the theory behind integrated approaches to health and One Health more specifically, a brief version of the NEOH evaluation framework, a supplementary evaluation approach, and eight case studies in which the NEOH framework was applied. The eBook is intended for practitioners, researchers, evaluators as well as funders of integrated approaches to health and beyond. Without the outstanding support and leadership from the management committee, this work would not have been achieved. Our gratitude goes to Maria-Eleni Filippitzi (BE), Véronique Renault (BE), Nihad Fejzic (BA), Sabina Seric-Haracic (BA), Nenad Turk (HR), Relia Beck (HR), Luca Guardabassi (DK), Liza Rosenbaum Nielsen (DK) Flavie Goutard (FR), Vladimir Grosbois (FR), Brigitte Petersen (DE), Martin Hamer (DE), Elias Papadopoulos (GR), Ilias Chaligiannis (GR), Gábor Földvári (HU), Anthony Staines (IE), Helen O’Shea (IE), Shimon Harrus (IL), Gad Baneth (IL), Valeria Grieco (IT), Maurizio Aragrande (vice chair, IT), Jovita Mažeikienė (LT), Sandra Buttigieg (MT), Elaine Lautier (MT), Helmut Saatkamp (NL), Kitty Maassen (NL), Vlatko Ilieski (MK), Mijalce Santa (MK), Merete Hofshagen (NO), Yngvild Wasteson (NO), Paulo Roriz (PT), Jorge Torgal (PT), Andrei D. Mihalca (RO), Razvan Chereches (RO), Dragan Milićević (RS), Sara Savic (RS), Joze Staric (SI), Mojca Juričič (SI), Pedro Soto-Acosta (ES), Francisco Giménez Sánchez (ES), Ann Lindberg (SE), Josef Järhult (SE), Jakob Zinsstag (CH), Simon Rüegg (CH), Barbara Häsler (chair, UK), K. Marie McIntyre (UK), Martha Betson (UK), Marieta Braks (NL), Chinwe Ifejika Speranza (DE), Spela Sinigoj (SI), Martijn Bouwknegt (NL), Andras Lakos (HU) and their substitutes Merel Postma (BE), Semra Cavaljuga (BA), Estella Prukner Radovcic (HR), Maria Vang Johansen (DK), Elena Boriani (DK), Ricarda Schmithausen (DE), Maryla Hanna Obszarski (DE), Smaragda Sotiraki (GR), Theofilos Papadopoulos (GR), Barry McMahon (IE), Massimo Canali (IT), Fabrizio Ceciliani (IT), Daniele De Meneghi (IT), Dalia Jurevičiūtė (LT), Miroslav Radeski (MK), Toni Vekov (MK); Manuela Vilhena (PT), Carla Maia (PT), Alexandru Coman (RO), Branka Vidic (RS), Gospava Lazić (RS), Ksenija Sinigoj Gacnik (SI), Juan Gabriel Cegarra Navarro (ES), Asta Tvarijonaviciute (ES), José Cerón (ES), Helene Wahlström (SE), Karin Artursson (SE), Laura Cornelsen (UK), Jonathan Rushton (UK). We also would like to thank the 240+ researchers that have engaged with the COST Action throughout and participated actively. Our gratitude also goes to the Royal Veterinary College in London, who acted as a grant holder.peer-reviewe

Editorial: Concepts and Experiences in Framing, Integration and Evaluation of One Health and EcoHealth

International audienc

Assessment of drivers of antimicrobial usage in poultry farms in the Mekong delta of vietnam: A combined participatory epidemiology and Q-sorting approach

International audienceIn the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, poultry farmers use high amounts of antimicrobials, but little is known about the drivers that influence this usage. We aimed to identify these drivers using a novel approach that combined participatory epidemiology (PE) and Q-sorting (a methodology that allows the analysis of the subjectivity of individuals facing a common phenomenon). A total of 26 semi-structured collective interviews were conducted with 125 farmers representative of the most common farming systems in the area (chickens, meat ducks, and mobile grazing ducks), as well as with 73 farmers' advisors [veterinarians, veterinary drug shop owners, and government veterinarians/commune animal health workers (CAHWs)] in five districts of Dong Thap province (Mekong Delta). Through these interviews, 46 statements related to the antimicrobials' perceived reliability, costs, and impact on flock health were created. These statements were then investigated on 54 individuals (28 farmers and 26 farmers' advisors) using Q-sorting interviews. Farmers generally indicated a higher propensity for antimicrobial usage (AMU) should their flocks encounter bacterial infections (75.0-78.6%) compared with viral infections (8.3-66.7%). The most trusted sources of advice to farmers were, in decreasing order: government veterinarian/CAHWs, their own knowledge/experience, veterinary drug shop owners, and sales persons from pharmaceutical and feed companies. The highest peak of AMU took place in the early phase of the production cycle. Farmers and their advisors showed considerable heterogeneity of attitudes with regards to AMU, with, respectively, four and three discourses representing their views on AMU. Overall, farmers regarded the cost of AMU cheaper than other disease management practices implemented on their farms. However, they also believed that even though these measures were more expensive, they would also lead to more effective disease prevention. A key recommendation from this finding would be for the veterinary authorities to implement long-term sustainable training programs aiming at reducing farmers' reliance on antimicrobials