Article Abstract

Volume 35, No. (6), 2025 (December)
THE ASSESSMENT OF ANTIBIOTICS USAGE AND DISEASE TRENDS IN COMMERCIAL BROILER FARMS OF POTOHAR REGION IN PAKISTAN: IMPLICATIONS FOR FOOD SAFETY
Hamid Masood, Ana Sofia Ribeiro Duarte, Ali Akbar, Syed Hamza Abbas, Malik Badshah, Aamer Ali Shah, Samiullah Khan

H. Masood¹, A. S. R. Duarte², A. Akbar³, S. H. Abbas⁴, M. Badshah⁵, A. A. Shah⁶, S. Khan⁷*

¹ Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-I-Azam University, 45320-Islamabad, Pakistan,
² Research Group for Foodborne Pathogens and Epidemiology, National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark,
³ Centre for Biotechnology and Microbiology, University of Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan,
⁴ Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-I-Azam University, 45320-Islamabad, Pakistan,
⁵ Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-I-Azam University, 45320-Islamabad, Pakistan,
⁶ Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-I-Azam University, 45320-Islamabad, Pakistan,
⁷ Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-I-Azam University, 45320-Islamabad, Pakistan,

Corresponding Author: samikhan@qau.edu.pk
Page Number(s): 1585-1598
Published Online First: September 22, 2025
Publication Date: November 30, 2025
ABSTRACT

Pakistan’s agriculture sector contributing 14.63% to the GDP in 2024 is majorly supported by the poultry industry, with a population of more than one billion broiler chickens. This research was conducted, in which data was collected from March 2022 to December 2023 through a structured questionnaire and analyzed by using univariate and multivariate methods, including multiple correspondence analyses (MCA) and cluster dendrogram. This study identified enteritis (38.46%), bronchitis (19.23%) and Newcastle disease (15.38%) as the most prevalent diseases. The antibiotic colistin, which is considered as the last resort antibiotic, was found most frequently used in (76.92%) followed by quinolones (65.38%), amoxicillin (53.84%), macrolides (34.61%), and aminoglycosides (30.76%). The antibiotics sulfonamides (15.38%), tetracyclines (11.53%) and nitrofuranes (3.84%) were found to be used less commonly in farm management practices. These findings highlight an overuse of colistin and other antibiotics, mostly in combination, posing a significant threat to public health for the possible emergence of antimicrobial resistance against this drug. Our findings elucidate the vitality of educational interventions and farming-oriented training in the improvement of management strategies and sustainable farming practices. By addressing the extra-label uses of antibiotics in broiler farms, Pakistan can take major steps towards alleviating the global threat of antibiotic resistance while ensuring food safety and public health.

Keywords: Antibiotics Resistance, Diseases, Broiler Farm, Colistin, Public Health

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Journal Impact Factor: 0.5 | (JCR Year: 2025) | Cite Score: 1.3

HEC Category: W

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Print ISSN: 1018-7081

Electronic ISSN: 2309-8694

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