Incidences of antimicrobial residues in raw cow milk from small holder farms in Uasin-Gishu county

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.