August 31, 2020

HSP Conducts Study On The Prevalence Of Antimicrobial Resistance In Pakistan’s Agricultural Industry

In Pakistan, HSP is working as part of the United Kingdom (UK) Fleming Fund’s efforts to better understand the levels of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria found in food animals. AMR is an evolution in viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens that makes them resistant to drugs they have been exposed to repeatedly.

In order to test the levels of AMR in Pakistan’s food animals, HSP has teamed up with Dr. Muhammed Usman Zaheer of the Animal Husbandry Commissioner’s Office in the Ministry of National Food Security & Research, to conduct a pilot study with healthy poultry, cattle, and buffalo intended for human consumption. The AMR surveillance will specifically look at commensal bacteria like E. coli.

This study will help streamline and strengthen components of Pakistan’s current AMR surveillance system for animals, including sample collection and processing, laboratory diagnostic capabilities, data management, and the ability to better estimate the prevalence of AMR amongst commensal bacteria. The study and its results will serve as the basis for wider AMR surveillance in Pakistan, both geographically and for more types of pathogens.