Insights on how antibiotic use relates to resistance in Salmonella in Nepal

Narayan Paudyal from the National Animal Health Research Centre of Nepal Agricultural Research Council presented in January his recent research on antibiotic use in poultry in relation to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of Salmonella. Paudyal introduced the first research of such kind in Nepal indicating that Salmonella and E. coli showed a high level of resistance to the most common antibiotics used to treat these pathogens. He noted that farming and animal husbandry practices were major contributing factors leading to AMR in the country. Resistance was identified to all commonly used drugs(except amikacin),and farming practices, like the use and disposal of leftover antibiotics,likely contribute to the prevalence of resistance. 

Nepal is one of the countries where FAO is carrying out the “Action to support implementation of Codex AMR Texts (ACT)” project (together with Bolivia, Cambodia, Colombia, Mongolia and Pakistan), working to minimize and contain foodborne AMR. The implementation of Codex standards reduces the emergence and transmission of AMR in food systems, enhancing safety and fair trade. 

Why is the use of antibiotics increasing in Nepal? What has been done to improve animal husbandry practices? Paudyal provides answers to these questions in a webinar recording here and in a presentation.   

“The second Thursday of each month we organize knowledge dissemination dialogues on AMR that bring participants up to date on specific scientific and technical topics related to AMR and how to contain it,” said Jorge Pinto Ferreira, FAO Food Safety Officer.  The sessions are open to the public, the only requirement is registering ahead of time.   

All past and upcoming webinars of this series are posted on this site

To learn more about the ACT project, please visit here