DRUGS in veterinary medicine are there to control different animal diseases and if properly used, they contribute to improving the production of food of animal origin. Food safety regulations are based on a risk analysis which is a structured and systematic process in which hazards that potentially affect public health are examined paving ways to mitigate the risks.

The presence of veterinary drugs in foods of animal origin such as meat beyond the maximum residue limit allowed could affect food trade and human health. Parameters such as an acceptable daily intake level, the maximum residues limits, and the withdrawal periods are determined for drugs used in livestock simply because levels of residues in edible tissues can be affected by diverse factors related to the treated animal, the type of drug administration, and even the type of cooking. This is why drug residues monitoring programme are crucial in the livestock industry to ensure that prohibited or authorized substances do not exceed the maximum residue limit.

Monitoring Program on veterinary medicine in animal husbandry in Zambia. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) International Project Coordinator, Elizabeth Marier, a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine said the Animal Health Systems Strengthening Project is delivering the objectives relating to veterinary Medicine resistance.

Speaking at Chita Lodge in Kafue District, Dr Marier said the objectives of the workshop are to create awareness on the responsible use of vet medicines and developing a surveillance program for residues. She said that understanding what the issue is or was when using animal medicines is important in making people take appropriate actions to ensure that medicines are used responsibly in respect of the withdrawal period. “To achieve this, our project has ensured that a diversity of participants from the private sector, laboratories, ministries and vet associations were invited to attend the workshop to create awareness at that level,” Dr Marier said. She explained that the second part of the project’s objectives is to create an effective plan that will allow the Zambian government through the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock to know how many samples to take for each of the livestock sectors and identify which substances are a priority for testing.

Speaking at the same function, Acting Director of Veterinary Services in the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Charles Maseka said the use of veterinary medicine in animal husbandry plays a crucial role in maintaining animal health and productivity. Dr Maseka said the development of the monitoring program will help ensure the surveillance of veterinary medicine residues in food products of animal origin which has almost been nonexistent in Zambia. He said the drought the country is experiencing will increase the risk of animal disease occurrence that may result in improper use of veterinary drugs for therapeutic purposes by livestock owners which in turn will affect human health.

“Excessive residues of these medicines in food products can pose significant risks to human health,” Dr Maseka said. Dr Maseka acknowledged that the valuable input from different stakeholders will lead to the development of sampling plan that will ensure an effective surveillance program is put in place to monitor and control the presence of veterinary medicine residues in food products, thereby safeguarding public health.

“I am irate to note that there are representatives from government agencies, regulatory bodies, veterinary professionals, food producers and consumer advocacy groups,” Dr Maseka said. He said the deeper conversations around veterinary medicines amongst the stakeholders have become imperative for the country adding that this couldn’t have come at a better time than this.

Veterinary drugs are chemical agents used to prevent or treat animal diseases. Rationally administered to food-producing animals, following good veterinary practices, they favor the production of abundant food, such as meat, milk, eggs, and honey. In contrast, several adverse effects, such as drug residues in food exceeding safe levels for humans, may appear when good veterinary practices are not met. Consequently, one of the emphases by the DEFRA workshop was that foodstuffs obtained from animals treated with veterinary drugs must not contain levels of residues that pose a risk to the consumer’s health.

Central Veterinary Research Institute (CVRI) Chief Veterinary Research Officer in the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock Mwansa Songe said the DEFRA awareness workshop has been very useful, interactive and productive because the workshop discussed issues around veterinary drug residues in animal food. Dr Songe said the country thus far has not got a national surveillance plan to test for drugs in food animals such as meat.

“It is important that we have met here today at Chita Lodge to develop a national surveillance plan that will encompass all food animals for the safety of the people,” Dr Songe said. Dr Songe said it is difficult to manage what is not know, but with the surveillance plan in place, veterinarians in the country will be able to see what issues are there, what residues are common in food animals and ascertain how to deal with them effectively. “Without the awareness workshop and support from DEFRA, we would not have had all these rich conversations that have taken place here with the stakeholders drawn from various facets of society to develop a national surveillance plan,” Dr Songe explained. She said the surveillance plan will among other things ensure that livestock farmers have a prescription from a trained veterinarian who is registered with the Veterinary Council of Zambia for proper guidance regarding the treatment of their animals. Veterinary drugs and drugs for humans are the same, but the way in which they are regulated differs, especially for drugs used in food production animals. Since humans can be exposed chronically to veterinary residues through the diet, veterinary drug residues in food are evaluated for effects following chronic exposures, so an acceptable daily intake must be established.

Animal Health Systems Strengthening Project, Zambia Animal Health National Lead Bruce Mukanda said a world without antibiotic and a world where all the microbes have acquired resistance from microbial would be problematic. “How many of us have family members who understand what antimicrobial resistance is, very few understand these, that’s why sensitisation is key for this program to achieve desired results,” Dr Mukanda said. He said considering awareness, sensitisation, advocacy or whatever form of awareness strategy should be top priority of the National Residues Monitoring Programme because for as long as people who release money does not understand this, it will never be done in the shot, medium or long-term. “There is one principal I have learnt throughout my working years that government allocates resource based on the pressure that comes from the population, so if they have to allocate resources to this program, veterinarians must ensure government receives enough pressure,” Dr Mukanda said. Dr Mukanda emphasised the need for the population to be aware that food animal residues is their problem too because a world without antibiotics and a world with maximum microbial resistance will be catastrophic. He said all veterinarians should be advocates of antimicrobial resistance because it affects not only those who are interested in the subject, but also everybody in the world. Dr Mukanda implored the need for veterinarians to explain to everybody in the country so that they understand why this issue is important otherwise more time will be spent without any results.

“A clear and clever innovative strategy on advocacy will ensure that people, policy makers, the industry and consumers understand it, and then we will have a program that will have acceptance and sufficient resources for us to achieve the results that we want,” Dr Mukanda said. It is therefore important to estimate the intake of various veterinary drug residues from food for risk evaluation, hence the need for the establishment of a surveillance plant for the country to ensure food animals meant for the market are tested to identify potential risks for human health. -NAIS