Ecological and socio-economic factors impacting maintenance and dissemination of antibiotic resistance in the Greater Serengeti Ecosystem
Lead Research Organisation:
Royal Veterinary College
Department Name: Clinical Sciences and Services
Abstract
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Technical Summary
We will develop a novel approach, extending the study of antibiotic resistance from the molecular to the community level, where resistance is least well understood, and focusing on broad patterns of resistance and dissemination of resistance to multiple communities, rather than on patterns of antibiotic resistance for specific pathogens.
Underpinning our approach is the use of ecological diversity measures to quantify the distribution of resistance - an approach pioneered by the UK applicants (Matthews, Haydon, Mather) and successfully applied to the analysis of antibiotic resistance patterns. Diversity of resistance phenotypes is quantified using a continuum of ecological diversity measures related to Rényi's entropy measures, that differentially weight the abundance of rare antibiotic resistance phenotypes. The resulting diversity profiles provide a population 'fingerprint' that allows robust comparison of diversity between populations.
For the current project we will develop mathematical models that capture the observed patterns of resistance and use them to test our hypotheses about the roles of antibiotic usage versus transfer of resistance within and between reservoir populations as drivers of the observed resistance patterns.
Our analyses will: (i) quantify the diversity of resistance profiles; (ii) characterise the connectivity of isolates across different communities and spatio-temporal scales; (iii) identify risk factors for resistance prevalence and diversity; (iv) develop simple dynamic models for the generation and transfer of resistance between populations, and; (v) link socio-economic variables to the modeling outputs to identify differences in household characteristics (e.g., socio-economic status, livestock type and production system) proximity to wildlife, antibiotic usage, and contact patterns that impact on the relative balance between generation and transfer of resistance, thereby identifying modifiable risks.
Underpinning our approach is the use of ecological diversity measures to quantify the distribution of resistance - an approach pioneered by the UK applicants (Matthews, Haydon, Mather) and successfully applied to the analysis of antibiotic resistance patterns. Diversity of resistance phenotypes is quantified using a continuum of ecological diversity measures related to Rényi's entropy measures, that differentially weight the abundance of rare antibiotic resistance phenotypes. The resulting diversity profiles provide a population 'fingerprint' that allows robust comparison of diversity between populations.
For the current project we will develop mathematical models that capture the observed patterns of resistance and use them to test our hypotheses about the roles of antibiotic usage versus transfer of resistance within and between reservoir populations as drivers of the observed resistance patterns.
Our analyses will: (i) quantify the diversity of resistance profiles; (ii) characterise the connectivity of isolates across different communities and spatio-temporal scales; (iii) identify risk factors for resistance prevalence and diversity; (iv) develop simple dynamic models for the generation and transfer of resistance between populations, and; (v) link socio-economic variables to the modeling outputs to identify differences in household characteristics (e.g., socio-economic status, livestock type and production system) proximity to wildlife, antibiotic usage, and contact patterns that impact on the relative balance between generation and transfer of resistance, thereby identifying modifiable risks.
Planned Impact
The beneficiaries and users of our research comprise:
- Doctors and veterinary practitioners
- Policy makers, including those in government and in NGOs
- Organisations that regulate trade, such as the FAO
- Pharmaceutical industries ie the producers of antibiotic drugs
- Livestock in developing and developed countries
- The public in developing and developed countries
- Post-doctoral researchers and PhD students employed on the project
In the short term, this research will be immediately useful to the Tanzanian communities being studied, providing local medical and veterinary practitioners the opportunity to advise the community on the avoidance of practices that enhance the spread of resistance. In the longer term, an improved recognition of the multiple routes by which resistance can enter communities could impact on prescribing practices in the developed world.
In the longer term, our research will ensure that policy makers, at international and national levels, in government and NGOs, will be better informed about the requirements for and scope of regulatory frameworks for antibiotic distribution. An improved understanding of the linkages between resistance in livestock and in humans will also allow organisations, such as the FAO, who are responsible for overseeing trade in animals and animal products to make better informed policy decisions.
Pharmaceutical industries will be able to make use of the work as it will help them identify the timescales and mechanisms over which pathogens may develop resistance, thus providing them with information about the length of commercial usefulness of their product, and the opportunity to improve labelling and other guidelines concerning the distribution and usage of their products.
Via our enhanced understanding of the mechanisms of persistence of antibiotic resistance, this project will inform the development of effective and practical intervention strategies, which will improve the health and welfare of both humans and livestock worldwide.
The PhD students and post-doctoral researchers trained during the course of this project will be specific beneficiaries of the project. They will have the opportunity to develop skills in the planning and implementation of a field study (in Tanzania), in molecular characterisation (WSU), mathematical modelling (Glasgow) and in the design and analysis of socio-economic surveys, the specific suite of skills selected being appropriate to their motivations, background and interests. The provision of such multidisciplinary training will help promote the long-term sustainability of interdisciplinary research. They will also gain transferable skills in project management, teamwork, document writing, communication and presentation, computer and programming skills and survey design and analysis.
- Doctors and veterinary practitioners
- Policy makers, including those in government and in NGOs
- Organisations that regulate trade, such as the FAO
- Pharmaceutical industries ie the producers of antibiotic drugs
- Livestock in developing and developed countries
- The public in developing and developed countries
- Post-doctoral researchers and PhD students employed on the project
In the short term, this research will be immediately useful to the Tanzanian communities being studied, providing local medical and veterinary practitioners the opportunity to advise the community on the avoidance of practices that enhance the spread of resistance. In the longer term, an improved recognition of the multiple routes by which resistance can enter communities could impact on prescribing practices in the developed world.
In the longer term, our research will ensure that policy makers, at international and national levels, in government and NGOs, will be better informed about the requirements for and scope of regulatory frameworks for antibiotic distribution. An improved understanding of the linkages between resistance in livestock and in humans will also allow organisations, such as the FAO, who are responsible for overseeing trade in animals and animal products to make better informed policy decisions.
Pharmaceutical industries will be able to make use of the work as it will help them identify the timescales and mechanisms over which pathogens may develop resistance, thus providing them with information about the length of commercial usefulness of their product, and the opportunity to improve labelling and other guidelines concerning the distribution and usage of their products.
Via our enhanced understanding of the mechanisms of persistence of antibiotic resistance, this project will inform the development of effective and practical intervention strategies, which will improve the health and welfare of both humans and livestock worldwide.
The PhD students and post-doctoral researchers trained during the course of this project will be specific beneficiaries of the project. They will have the opportunity to develop skills in the planning and implementation of a field study (in Tanzania), in molecular characterisation (WSU), mathematical modelling (Glasgow) and in the design and analysis of socio-economic surveys, the specific suite of skills selected being appropriate to their motivations, background and interests. The provision of such multidisciplinary training will help promote the long-term sustainability of interdisciplinary research. They will also gain transferable skills in project management, teamwork, document writing, communication and presentation, computer and programming skills and survey design and analysis.
People |
ORCID iD |
Jonathan Rushton (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Babo Martins S
(2014)
Cost-effectiveness analysis: adding value to assessment of animal health welfare and production.
in Revue scientifique et technique (International Office of Epizootics)
Rushton J
(2015)
Anti-microbial Use in Animals: How to Assess the Trade-offs.
in Zoonoses and public health
Queenan K
(2016)
A One Health approach to antimicrobial resistance surveillance: is there a business case for it?
in International journal of antimicrobial agents
Carrique-Mas JJ
(2017)
Integrated Interventions to Tackle Antimicrobial Usage in Animal Production Systems: The ViParc Project in Vietnam.
in Frontiers in microbiology
Rushton J
(2017)
Improving the use of economics in animal health - Challenges in research, policy and education.
in Preventive veterinary medicine
Description | Initial contact with local organisations, some early work on socio-economics of the situation The award has led to other aspects of antimicrobial use and AMR work at a policy level. These in turn indicate the paucity of data around the use of antimicrobials in animals in particular an inability to specify the species, production system and age at which antimicrobials are most commonly used and the reasons for their application |
Exploitation Route | We will be producing papers in the next 12 to 24 months |
Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology Other |
Description | I have used some of the observations from this project in a white paper for OECD and the development of a paper for publication in the journal Zoonoses and Public Health. The work has also contributed to the assessment of antimicrobial use in livestock in low and middle income countries supported by the The World Organisation for Animal Health. The work subsequently was part of the basis of the World Bank statements on the UN resolutions on AMR made in September 2016 In addition part of the project team - Jonathan Rushton, Doug Call, Louise Matthews - were a core part of a Wellcome Trust/Fleming Fund scoping study of gaps in research on antimicrobial use and AMR in livestock. In the last 12 months the work has been used as a basis to look at antimicrobial use in livestock in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia with funding from FAO and Wellcome Trust. The former has involved the engagement with private sector partners |
First Year Of Impact | 2016 |
Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Government, Democracy and Justice,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology,Other |
Impact Types | Societal Economic Policy & public services |
Description | An analysis of the animal/human interface with a focus on low and middle income counties |
Amount | £105,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Government of Catalonia |
Department | Department of Health |
Sector | Public |
Country | Spain |
Start | 03/2016 |
End | 08/2016 |
Description | Economic Cost of Antimicrobial Resistance |
Amount | $235,000 (USD) |
Organisation | World Organisation for Animal Health, France |
Sector | Public |
Country | France |
Start | 01/2016 |
End | 03/2017 |
Description | Vietnamese Platform for Antimicrobial Reductions in Chicken production |
Amount | £1,000,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | 110085/Z/15/Z |
Organisation | Wellcome Trust |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2016 |
End | 12/2021 |
Description | Collaboration with University of Copenhagen project UC-CARE |
Organisation | University of Copenhagen |
Country | Denmark |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Currently I sit on the advisor board of the programme with a role on the use of value chain analysis for the assessment of antimicrobial use in livestock |
Collaborator Contribution | Advisor capacity on work I am doing |
Impact | None as yet |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Development of a framework for antimicrobial use in livestock |
Organisation | Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) |
Country | Italy |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | A partnership with the SE Asian countries through FAO regional office to develop a framework for the capture of data on antimicrobial use in livestock |
Collaborator Contribution | I have been involved in developing a framework, partners are involved in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia in terms of provision of data |
Impact | Presentations on the subject at the Prince Mahidol Award Conference in 2017 and 2018 |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Review of the use of antimicrobials in livestock |
Organisation | Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD |
Country | France |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | A review of the information around the use of antimicrobials in livestock External reviewer on a follow up piece of work in the estimation of the use of antimicrobials in livestock |
Collaborator Contribution | Coordination of external of the paper produced, presentation of the results to OECD's APM committee, publication of a white paper on the OECD webpage |
Impact | Rushton, J., J. Pinto Ferreira and K. D. Stärk (2014), "Antimicrobial Resistance: The Use of Antimicrobials in the Livestock Sector", OECD Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Papers, No. 68, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5jxvl3dwk3f0-en |
Start Year | 2012 |