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. 2025 Mar 10;14(3):285.
doi: 10.3390/antibiotics14030285.

Development of an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Tool for Monitoring of Antimicrobial Use, Animal Disease and Treatment Outcome in Low-Income Countries

Susanna Sternberg-Lewerin  1 , Joshua Orungo Onono  2 , Sofia Boqvist  1 , Lawrence Mugisha  3 , Wangoru Kihara  4 , Linnea Lindfors  5 , Kajsa Strandell  6 , Florence Mutua  7
Affiliations

Development of an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Tool for Monitoring of Antimicrobial Use, Animal Disease and Treatment Outcome in Low-Income Countries

Susanna Sternberg-Lewerin et al. Antibiotics (Basel). .

Abstract

Background/objectives: Surveillance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and antimicrobial use (AMU) is needed to understand risks and implement policies. Collecting AMU data in the context of disease prevalence and therapeutic outcomes has been suggested for improving AMU. We describe the process of developing an information and communication technology (ICT) system to monitor AMU, diseases and treatment outcomes in poultry in East Africa.

Methods: A prototype system to register drug sales in veterinary pharmacies, a mobile application for farmers to report their AMU, and a database for monitoring was developed. Contact information for participating veterinarians was included as well as information about poultry diseases, husbandry, AMR and prudent use of antibiotics. The system was pilot-tested for a 6-month period in Kenya.

Results: A total of 15,725 records were submitted by the 14 participating pharmacies and 91 records were entered by the 15 participating farmers. Overall, the participants were positive about the system and were able to use it. The information available was appreciated by the farmers. The pharmacy representatives appreciated getting an overview of their sales and stated that it had given them new insights.

Conclusions: Despite some challenges, the concept of the developed ICT system could be useful for future monitoring of animal health and the use of pharmaceuticals in animals, and connecting farmers with veterinarians to improve animal health management. Our results underline the importance of close collaboration with stakeholders so that developed tools can be transferred to national ownership after the finalization of externally funded projects.

Keywords: AMR; AMU; LMICs; e-surveillance; monitoring; veterinary pharmaceuticals.

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Conflict of interest statement

Author W.K. is employed by the company Badili Innovations. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Conceptual overview of the ADIS system and its users. Farmers enter data on animal disease and medical treatment on their farm via a mobile app while veterinary pharmacies enter data on sales of pharmaceuticals via tablets. Each actor can retrieve a summary of their own data and access the information about animal diseases. Farmers can also obtain contact information for veterinary consultations. Overviews of all data entries can be accessed by the system administrator.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Screenshots of the ADIS system recording views for (a) farmers and (b) veterinary pharmacies.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The ADIS system architecture. ** In the current system, farmers use the mobile phone App, Agrovets (veterinary pharmacy staff) use tablets to access the web application and administrators access data via computer.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Infographic about AMR included in ADIS. Created by Cajsa Lithell, Redcap Design.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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