Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major health threat to humans, animals, plants and the environment. One of the key drivers of AMR is the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials in animal production, including in aquaculture. Therefore, monitoring the use of antimicrobials in farm animals is essential to mitigate AMR. The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, founded as OIE) has been collecting data, mainly coming from national sales and imports records of antimicrobials, from its members on antimicrobial agents intended for use in animals since 2015. To complement this information and improve decision-making, farm-level antimicrobial use (AMU) data are needed, as it allows for better understanding of how antimicrobials are used in the field. Therefore, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (FAO RAP), the WOAH Regional Representation for Asia and the Pacific (WOAH RRAP) and the WOAH Sub-Regional Representation for South-East Asia (WOAH SRR-SEA) developed a joint guideline on Monitoring antimicrobial use at the farm level. The guideline provides detailed guidance on establishing a farm-level AMU monitoring system: conducting a situational analysis; establishing an operational mechanism; technical preparation. The recommendations cover both terrestrial and aquatic food-producing animals and consider the wide range of AMU monitoring capacities in Asia and the Pacific and beyond. The target users of this guideline are the competent authorities, research institutions and agrifood industry actors who plan to develop or improve an AMU monitoring system at the farm level.

The International FAO Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring (InFARM) system is an FAO flagship initiative, supporting countries in collecting, collating, analysing, visualizing, and effectively utilizing their AMR monitoring and surveillance data primarily from livestock, fisheries, and aquaculture, along with their associated food products. [Author] InFARM empowers countries to generate reliable evidence to measure the extent of AMR in animals and food, at local, regional, and global scales, filling critical gaps in AMR data within agrifood systems. [Author] This document introduces the InFARM system, provides the FAO's roadmap for implementation over the coming years, and serves as a guide for country officials, offering a step-by-step approach to support the implementation of InFARM. [Author] It provides specific steps and recommendations to guide national focal points in mobilizing country participation through the collection and sharing of available AMR data, along with information on the status of implementation of monitoring and surveillance activities. [Author] Through the InFARM system, FAO invites its Members to establish and strengthen operational national AMR surveillance systems. [Author]

The guidelines provide a regional overview of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance in aquaculture, including the importance of harmonizing methodologies across the region (Chapter 1). The guidelines also cover approaches to the design of AMR surveillance in aquaculture, from identifying the target population to sampling considerations (Chapter 2). Sample consideration and transport are described in detail, following standing methodologies for disease surveillance in aquaculture (Chapter 3). The laboratory methods are described, from general principles to specific methodologies (Chapter 4). Finally, the guidelines also describe AMR data management including collection, storage, analysis, and presentation (Chapter 5). While Volume 3 provides guidance for carrying out AMR monitoring and surveillance in aquaculture, the other areas in the AMR surveillance framework are covered in the respective volumes of this regional guideline series: Volume 1 (Monitoring and surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria from healthy food animals intended for consumption), Volume 2 (Monitoring and surveillance in animal pathogens recovered from diseased livestock); Volume 4 (Monitoring bacterial resistance in the animal environment) that will focus on monitoring AMR in bacteria from agriculture settings (such as manure and slurry in livestock farms and aquatic environments), Volume 5 (Monitoring antimicrobial usage in animals at the farm level) and Volume 6 (Monitoring antimicrobial residues in food). Experts from FAO, the Singapore Food Agency and the Singapore National Parks Board led the writing of this volume.

This publication is a building block of the Eastern Africa antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance roadmap that was described in April 2019, by AMR experts from Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda. [Author] The roadmap is presented in chapter six of this document. [Author] The national AMR experts came together in a regional meeting organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and also attended by other national, regional and international organizations such as the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-Kenya, University of Nairobi (UON), Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), World Animal Protection (WAP) and African Union-Interagency Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR). [Author] The aim of the roadmap is to set out the processes, tools and coordination that technical experts and decision-makers from within national governments in East Africa agreed should be undertaken at regional level to support development and implementation of national AMR surveillance strategies and plans. [Author]

This Regional Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Monitoring and Surveillance Guidelines Volume 1 provides guidance in the development of AMR surveillance plan for food-borne bacteria, underscoring the key elements for harmonized AMR data generation, data collation and reporting of findings, while taking into consideration the standing context of the region. It aims to provide guidelines on the harmonized scheme for antimicrobial susceptibility testing and laboratory-based monitoring for AMR.

An overview of farm-to-fork safety in the preharvest realm Foodborne outbreaks continue to take lives and harm economies, making controlling the entry of pathogens into the food supply a priority. Preharvest factors have been the cause of numerous outbreaks, including Listeria in melons, Salmonella associated with tomatoes, and Shiga toxin-producing E.coli in beef products, yet most traditional control measures and regulations occur at the postharvest stage. Preharvest Food Safety covers a broad swath of knowledge surrounding topics of safety at the preharvest and harvest stages, focusing on problems for specific food sources and food pathogens, as well as new tools and potential solutions. Led by editors Siddhartha Thakur and Kalmia Kniel, a team of expert authors provides insights into critical themes surrounding preharvest food safety, including Challenges specific to meat, seafood, dairy, egg, produce, grain, and nut production Established and emerging foodborne and agriculture-related pathogens Influences of external factors such as climate change and the growing local-foods trend Regulatory issues from both US and EU perspectives Use of pre- and probiotics, molecular tools, mathematical modeling, and one health approaches Intended to encourage the scientific community and food industry stakeholders to advance their knowledge of the developments and challenges associated with preharvest food safety, this book addresses the current state of the field and provides a diverse array of chapters focused on a variety of food commodities and microbiological hazards.

The occurrence of multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens (e.g., Enterobacterales and nonfermenting Gram-negative bacilli) to critically important antimicrobials such as carbapenems and colistin, last-resort antimicrobials, is a global multifactorial problem that involves animal–food–environmental–human sectors, which requires coordinated One Health and Global Health actions. The raising of food-producing animals has been increasing worldwide due to the rapid increase in demand for livestock products driven by human population growth. Consequently, the intensive use of antimicrobials in this sector has been associated with an increase in antimicrobial resistance. In this regard, the concerns associated with animal-to-human or animal-to-environment transmission of bacteria, including zoonotic pathogens, or plasmid-mediated antimicrobial resistance genes have increased in the last decade.

This first volume in a two-volume work enhances readers’ understanding of antimicrobial resistance mechanisms in selected bacterial species that cause diseases in major food producing animals. It provides an overview of the current legislation and policies seeking to regulate the authorisation, manufacturing, distribution and use of veterinary antimicrobials in practice in a way that helps to contain the spread of antimicrobial resistance. The focus is put on Europe, without neglecting the global context. Moreover, attention is paid to various uses of antimicrobials in livestock, considering both their risks and benefits, from the distant past to the present. Growth promotion, prophylaxis, metaphylaxis, diagnostics and treatment are discussed not only with regard to food production and animal health, but also considering the One Health concept, which combines public and animal health with environmental aspects. A summary of various systems for monitoring the use of antimicrobials is provided, as well as an overview of the diseases that European veterinarians most often treat with antimicrobials. In closing, the book addresses the complexity of recent measures that are of key importance for antimicrobial stewardship, e.g. biosecurity, vaccination and other preventive tools including the newest technologies like smart farming. The complete two-volume work provides an extensive review of various aspects related to the use of antimicrobials in veterinary medicine, especially considering major food producing species, their most common infectious diseases and causative pathogens, and mainly focusing on the situation in Europe, without ignoring the global context. While Volume I discusses more general aspects of antibiotic use such as regulatory, laboratory and practical issues from different perspectives, Volume II more specifically discusses medical aspects and the use of antimicrobials in cattle, pigs, poultry and horses, as well as pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, two of the most important factors determining the success of treatment. In both volumes, each chapter confronts the reader with open questions to stimulate further discussions and future research on the topics covered.