Abstract:
In a sustained effort to control and manage the acute
proliferation of bovine mastitis, prolonged and
overwhelming application of antimicrobial therapeutic
agents has been deployed. The net effect of the increased
use of these antimicrobials for a longer period translated
to Antimicrobial Drug Residues (AMDR) in raw cow
milk. The AMDR have been reported exponentially and
globally. To address this hazard, the objective of this study
was to determine qualitative and quantitative antimicrobial
residues in raw milk from smallholder dairy farms in
Moiben (0.8238° N, 35.3764° E) and Kapseret (0.4309°
N, 35.2272° E) sub-counties of Uasin-Gishu. The study
employed a prospective cohort design in which 216 cows
on 81 smallholder farms were considered. A multi-stage
sampling of pooled mid-stream milk for AMDR testing
was analyzed using microbiological culture Delvotest and
HPLC-MS/MS methods. In this study, the prevalence of
AMDR in milk was 6.9%, with occurrence in Moiben
at 4.5% and in Kapseret at 11.0%. Fifty-three percent
(53.3%) of the samples that were positive for the three
classes of antimicrobial drugs had AMDR concentrations
which were above the Safe Maximum Residue Limits of
>4.0 μg/ml, >3.1 μg/ml, and >0.2 μg/ml for Penicillin,
Tetracycline, and Streptomycin, respectively. Maintaining
and observing strict withdrawal periods and active and
regular surveillance of antimicrobial residue levels in raw
milk is highly recommended.
