KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF FARMERS IN TEMA METROPOLIS, GHANA ON MICROBIOLOGICAL MEAT SAFETY, ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE AND ANTIBIOTIC RESIDUES

armers play an important role in meat, introducing antibiotic-resistant microorganisms and antibiotic residues. This study assessed farmers’ knowledge and perception of microbiological meat safety, antibiotic resistance, and antibiotic residues. A total of 138 farmers were randomly interviewed. Data collected were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences, and results were presented in tables and figures. Almost 99% of the farmers were men, and most were between the ages of 41-60 (59%) years. The farmers (49%) had more than 10 years of experience in farming, and COVID-19 negatively affected (61%) their farming operations, especially in terms of feed costs (52%). The farmers were aware of microbiological meat safety (67%) and heard about it mostly from extension officers (67%). The majority of the farmers (63%) knew that animals carry bacteria in/on them and these bacteria can be transferred onto meats and cause foodborne diseases. The farmers heard about antibiotic resistance (69%) from extension officers (53%) and had ever used antibiotics for the treatment of sick animals (45%), as growth promoters (35%) and as prophylactics (12%). Most (63%) of the farmers had not heard about antibiotic residues, and those who had heard about antibiotic residues heard of it from veterinary officers (45%), extension officers (41%) and the media (14%). The majority of the farmers had heard about microbiological meat safety and antibiotic resistance, but few had heard about antibiotic residues. Education of farmers on antibiotic residues is recommended.


INTRODUCTION
Farmers are significant in animal production and contribute to development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the deposition of antibiotic residues in meats. Farmers often sell produced animals to butchers who convert them to carcasses and are sold by meat sellers for human consumption. Management practices in animal production include the use of antibiotics. These antibiotics are important bioactive and chemotherapeutic antimicrobial compounds that can kill or inhibit bacterial pathogens. They can be found naturally, semi-synthetically or synthetically synthesized (Manyi-Loh, 2018). Antibiotics are given to animals for therapeutic, prophylactic and sub-therapeutic purposes (Landers et al., 2012;Sajid et al., 2016). They perform important roles in animals such as combatting and prevention of diseases caused by bacteria, boosting their immune systems, increasing feed conversion efficiency, and lowering morbidity and mortality. However, when withdrawal periods of antibiotics on animals are not observed before animals are slaughtered, residual antibiotic can be deposited in edible tissues. These residues taint the safety and wholesomeness of products from treated animals, such as muscle meat, milk and eggs, and have negative health consequences for consumers (Almashhadany, 2021).
To an extent, antibiotics are administered as feed additives to promote growth and enhance performance in animal husbandry, widely known as antimicrobial growth promoters (AGP) (Philips et al., 2004;Landers et al., 2012). Antibiotic compounds include ampicillin, penicillin, amoxicillin, chlortetracycline, ciprofloxacin, danofloxacin, doxycycline, norfloxacin, oxytetracycline, sulfadiazine, tylosin, chloramphenicol and metronidazole (Harada et al., 2008). According to Manyi-Loh et al. (2018), the surging use of antibiotics as AGP can promote the development of bacteria in the animal to be resistant to antibiotics. Likewise, it poses a risk factor for antibiotic resistance in human pathogens due to the density of modern prolific livestock operations in most developing countries over the years (Landers et al., 2012;Agyare, 2018). Hence, an organism's ability to resist the killing efficacy of a previous normal susceptible antibiotic known as antibiotic-resistance (AR) is of research and health concern. Livestock is known as an important reservoir of AR zoonotic bacteria. Consequently, AR remains one of the 21st century's most serious global threat to human health (Ralica, 2020). Microorganisms including Staphylococcus spp., Streptococcus spp., Bacillus spp., Clostridium spp., Enterococcus spp., Pseudomonas spp., Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Yersinia spp. and Proteus spp. have been reported to be resistant to various antibiotics (Agyare, 2018;Adzitey et al., 2020a;Adzitey et al., 2022). Das et al. (2020) reported that the high or low concentrations of AR in poultry products depended on the antibiotics administration duration. Also, Shaltout et al.
(2019) revealed a high incidence of AR in beef due to excessive use of antibiotics. Ralica (2020) also reported the effect of antibiotic residues on humans through animal product consumption. Etiologies in the use of antibiotics include; the development of antimicrobial drug resistance, hypersensitivity reaction, carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, teratogenicity, bone marrow depression, and disruption of normal intestinal flora (Ralica, 2020 Fecal contamination of carcasses is the principal way by which antibiotic residues and potentially resistant enteric pathogens like Escherichia coli, Campylobacter spp., and Salmonella spp. reach the food chain in the case of meat (Al-Mashhadany, 2019). Antibiotics are important to farmers and due to the major role played in livestock production, some farmers in Ghana frequently administer them without following the authorized dosages, application timings, or withdrawal periods (Afakye et al., 2019;Abass et al., 2020;Ekli et al., 2020). Thus, farmers' knowledge of and impact of antibiotic use in farming operations is poor. Akansale et al. (2019) reported the effect of inappropriate use of antibiotics by farmers and the lack of residual antibiotic effects and microbial meat safety knowledge by both consumers and farmers.
Consumers' knowledge of meat safety and their demand for the same could propel farmers to adhere to sustainable animal production. Nonetheless, studies on the knowledge of farmers in Ghana on microbial safety in meat, antibiotic use, and antibiotic residues are limited and unavailable in most regions. Therefore, this study seeks to determine farmers' knowledge and perception of microbial meat safety, antibiotic usage, and antibiotic residues among farmers in Tema Metropolis, Ghana.

LOCATION OF STUDY
The study was conducted in the Tema Metropolis, which has its capital as Tema and is located at latitude 5º38'32' North and longitudes 0º0'9''West (Tema Metropolitan Assembly, 2021). It is also located about 25 kilometers east of the capital City of Accra, Ghana, and is described as the city on the Bight of Benin and the Atlantic Coast of Ghana (Tema Metropolitan Assembly, 2021). It is nicknamed the 'Harbor City' because it hosts Ghanas' largest seaport and other industries (Tema Metropolitan Assembly, 2021).

DATA COLLECTION
A survey was conducted among farmers (respondents) on their demographic characteristics, knowledge, and perception of meat safety, antibiotic usage/resistance, and antibiotic residues. The respondents were selected using a simple random design. A semi-structured questionnaire made up of close and open-ended questions was used to obtain respondents' information. Sample size determination was done using a sample size calculator at a confidence level of 95%, an error margin of 5%, and a population portion of 50% (Calculater.net, 2020). The population of farmers in Tema was 214 (Personal communication with Tema Farmers Association). Based on this population, the sample size for farmers was computed to be 138, and the same were interviewed.

DATA ANALYSIS
Data collected were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20, Armonk, New York. Results were presented in tables and figures. Chi-square was used to determine the relationship among some of the data obtained.

DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF FARMERS AND INFORMATION ON ANIMAL REARING
The demographic characteristics of farmers are shown in Table 1. Most of the farmers were males (99%), between the ages of 41-60 (59%) years and 47% were married. In addition, 59% were Christians, and 40% had no formal education. The farmers interviewed comprised of cattle farmers (24%), goat farmers (21%), sheep farmers (10%), pig farmers (9%) and poultry farmers (3%) as presented in Table 2. They kept animals mainly for income (71%), and most of them have been keeping animals for more than 10 years (49%) on a full-time basis (53%). COVID-19 had a very negative impact (61%) on their farming activities and business, especially in the areas of feed cost (52%), low patronage (25%), and illness and infection of animals (23%).
This study revealed that the farmers were dominated by males, middle-aged people, married people, Christians, and people with non-formal education. The farmers were mainly into cattle and goat production. The study also showed that most of the farmers had more than ten years of experience in keeping animals and kept animals on a full-time basis for income. Age (χ2=676.705, df=28, P=0.000), education (χ2=761.088, df=35, P=0.000) and years of experience in animal farming (χ2=788.929, df=49, P=0.000) influenced the impact of COVID-19 on the farmers' business. Similarly, Akansale et al. (2019) found that most farmers were males of middle age and had non-formal education. Their study also revealed that 30%, 22.7%, and 28.0% of the farmers kept mainly goat, sheep, and goat/sheep, respectively, and 36.0% of farmers had 6-10 years' farming experience. According to Phares et al.
(2020), farmers kept mostly poultry (70.2%) and livestock (29.8%). Adzitey et al. (2020b) and Obese et al. (2021) indicated that COVID-19 had a negative impact on breeding activities, capacity building, input supply, food demand, and the supply chain of the animal industry in Ghana.

KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF FARMERS ON MICROBIOLOGICAL MEAT SAFETY
The farmers were aware of microbiological meat safety (67%), mostly from extension officers (67%) as shown in Table 3. Most farmers did not know that poor animal handling can lead to the poor carcass and meat quality (70%), but they knew animals carry bacteria that can be transferred onto meats and can cause foodborne diseases (63%).
According to the farmers, the best methods for preserving meat were refrigeration (46%) and salting (31%). These methods help to prevent spoilage (52%), are cost-effective (30%), and ensure safe and hygienic meats (18%). The farmers had seen animals being slaughtered (51%) and did not like it (59%) because of the unhygienic slaughter conditions(71%), unhuman handling of animals (19%), and poor sanitation (10%). Farmers preferred buying their meat from butcher shops (39%), open markets (28%) as well as cold stores (25%), and considered the price (55%) as well as the neatness of the place and meat (33%) before purchase. Figure 1 shows that farmers knew some bacteria Bacillus spp. (43%) and Campylobacter spp. (38%) can cause foodborne diseases. Generally, the farmers agreed (95%, slightly to agree strongly) that biosecurity measures are associated with meat safety (Figure 2). They also agreed (94%, slightly too strongly agree) that the personal hygiene of farmers and butchers is essential for meat safety ( Figure 3).
The study revealed that most farmers heard about meat safety and from extension officers. They knew animals are sources of bacteria that can contaminate meats and cause foodborne illnesses. Refrigeration was identified as the best method of preserving meat because of its effectiveness in preventing meat spoilage, consistent with studies by Adzitey et al. (2018) and Sulleyman et al. (2018) have been reported to be sources of foodborne pathogens which is a public health issue (Aslam and Service, 2006;Zhao et al., 2012;Anachinaba et al., 2015;Albarri et al., 2017;Rahman et al., 2017;Adzitey et al., 2019;Tay et al., 2019;Adzitey, 2020;Eltai et al., 2020). Adequate knowledge of farmers in meat safety is required to motivate farmers to observe good husbandry and management practices. This could translate into improved animal welfare and a reduction in the transfer of pathogenic bacteria from animals to meats during processing. Proper meat storage is also required to maintain meat quality and increase shelf life.

KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF FARMERS ON ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE
The knowledge and perception of farmers on antibiotic usage are shown in Table 4. The farmers had heard about antibiotic resistance (69%) from extension officers (53%) and had used antibiotics for the treatment of sick animals (45%), as growth promoters (35%), and as prophylactics (12%). The antibiotics used by farmers are presented in Figure 4. They were chloramphenicol (79%), ceftriaxone (74%), tetracycline (71%), teicoplanin (70%), gentamicin (69%), ciprofloxacin (55%), amoxicillin/clavunic acid (38%), azithromycin (38%) and sulphamethoxazole/Trimethoprim (25%). The antibiotics used were self-prescription (48%) or recommended by colleague farmers (44%). In addition, most farmers administered antibiotics by themselves (35%) or by colleague farmers (41%). The farmers did not know that: people can become resistant to antibiotics (50%); antibiotic resistance occurs in bacteria/germs (57%); antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria develop the ability to survive exposure to antibiotics (77%); antibiotic resistance bacteria can infect humans (66%); infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria are difficult to treat (67%); the result of antibiotic resistance is that certain antibiotics can no longer be used to treat certain infections successfully (59%); antibiotics used for animals can reduce the possibility of effective antibiotic treatment for humans (59%); meat can be contaminated by antibiotic-resistant bacteria (57%); humans can consume meat contaminated by antibiotic-resistant bacteria (63%); and the more antibiotics are used, the higher the risk that bacteria will develop resistance to them and spread (66%).
The farmers (54%) agreed that using antibiotics on animals can affect humans ( Figure 5), but 52% disagreed that animals on antibiotics are sometimes slaughtered for sale ( Figure 6). Furthermore, 53% of the farmers either disagreed (slightly to agree strongly) that locally produced meats on the Ghanaian market sometimes contain antibiotic-resistant bacteria (Figure 7). The farmers (53%) also disagreed that imported meats on the Ghanaian market sometimes contain antibiotic-resistant bacteria (Figure 8).

AJHSE 3(2)
Anachinaba et al., 2022 | 17     This study showed that most farmers had heard about antibiotic resistance from extension officers, veterinary officers, the media, colleague farmers or schools; this agrees with studies by Oluwasile et al. (2014) andFerdous etal. (2019). In the current study, farmers used antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, chloramphenicol, ceftriaxone, teicoplanin, gentamicin, azithromycin, and sulphamethoxazole/trimethoprim for treatment of sick animals, as growth promoters and as prophylactics. This concord with work by Ventola (2015), which indicated that antibiotics are used in animal production for prophylactic purposes, treatment of sick animals, and as growth promoters. Kalam et al. (2021) reported that common antibiotics sold in the poultry industry include ciprofloxacin, oxytetracycline, penicillin, and amoxicillin. Interestingly, most of the farmers administered antibiotics by themselves or colleague farmers did that for them. Similarly, Phares et al. (2020) found that farmers did about 91% of antibiotic administration based on their experience, and veterinary officers did only 9%. Most farmers did not have good knowledge of antibiotic resistance acquisition and transmission, as indicated in Table 4. However, most agreed that using antibiotics in animals can affect humans but disagreed that animals on antibiotic treatment are sometimes slaughtered for sale, and locally produced and imported meats in Ghana sometimes contain experience, and training on antimicrobials significantly impacted the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance among poultry feed and drug sellers.

KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF FARMERS ON ANTIBIOTIC RESIDUES
The knowledge and perception of farmers on antibiotic residues are presented in Table 5. Most farmers had not heard about antibiotic residues (63%). Those who hadheard about antibiotic residues heard of them from veterinary officers (45%), extension officers (41%), and the media (14%). Most of the farmers did not know that: antibiotic residues can occur in humans (67%); antibiotic residues can occur in bacteria/germs (57%); antibiotic residues are molecules that remain in meat from animals that have been treated with antibiotics (53%); antibiotic residues in meat can be reduced by observing withdrawal periods (63%); antibiotic residues can be transferred from meat to humans via consumption (66%); and animal farmers play a significant role in antibiotic-resistant residues in meat (64%).
This study revealed that most farmers are aware of antibiotic residues such as amoxicillin, chlortetracycline, tylosin, ciprofloxacin, danofloxacin, sulfadiazine, doxycycline, norfloxacin, oxytetracycline, chloramphenicol and metronidazole from veterinary and extension officers. However, most did not know that antibiotic residues can occur in humans, bacteria and meats from faulty usage of antibiotics and consumption of meats. Most of them also did not know that withdrawal periods can reduce the occurrence of antibiotic residues in meats and that farmers play a key role in the deposition of antibiotic residues in meats. Most farmers disagreed that locally produced or imported meats contained antibiotic residues. Age (χ2=638.784, df=12, P=0.000), education

CONCLUSION
The farmers interviewed were into cattle, poultry, goat, sheep, and pig production. Most of the farmers were males and had more than ten years of experience, but COVID-19 negatively impacted their farming. Most had heard about microbiological meat safety and antibiotic resistance, but not antibiotics residues. Some farmers administered antibiotics by themselves without prescription and did not follow withdrawal periods. Education of farmers on antibiotic usage and its consequences is recommended.