Knowledge, attitudes and practices on antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance among shrimp aquaculturists in Peninsular Malaysia

In aquaculture, production intensification and the increasing occurrence of diseases are equally driving antimicrobial use (AMU) and the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). There is inadequate awareness and knowledge regarding AMU and AMR among the public in Malaysia. Thereby, AMR reduction action plans critically require the involvement of farmers as end users of the antimicrobials. The knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) survey can evaluate the farmers' awareness level about the issue. To date, no KAP survey has been conducted among shrimp aquaculture farmers in Malaysia regarding AMU and AMR. In addition, no suitable questionnaire is available to conduct the study. Therefore, this study has developed a questionnaire to evaluate the KAP of Penaeus vannamei and Penaeus monodon aquaculture farmers towards AMU and AMR in selected states in Peninsular Malaysia. In total, 113 farmers participated in this survey. The majority (88.1 %, n = 89) of 101 respondents who completed answering the knowledge- and attitude-related KAP items had inadequate knowledge of AMU and AMR. Regarding attitude, the percentages of farmers with good attitudes (49.5 %, n = 50) and poor attitudes (50.5 %, n = 51) are comparable. Nevertheless, a high percentage (95.0 %, n = 96) of them have never used antibiotics on farmed shrimp, indicating good practices in terms of AMU. The Pearson correlation revealed a large positive association between knowledge and attitudes. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to develop a questionnaire and assess the KAP regarding AMU and AMR among shrimp aquaculture farmers in Malaysia.