Research Article Antimicrobial Usage by Small-Scale Commercial Poultry Farmers in Mid-Western District of Masindi Uganda: Patterns, PublicHealthImplications,andAntimicrobialResistanceof E. coli Majalija Samuel , Tony Fredrick Wabwire , Gabriel Tumwine , and Peter Waiswa College of Veterinary Medicine Animal Resources and iosecurity, Makerere University, P.O ox 7062, Kampala, Uganda Correspondence should be addressed to Majalija Samuel; saraali67@gmail.com Received 15 January 2023; Revised 5 April 2023; Accepted 15 April 2023; Published 20 April 2023 Academic Editor: Francesca Mancianti Copyright © 2023 Majalija Samuel et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ackground. Poultry production in Uganda is growing at a fast rate due to increasing demand, notwithstanding, poor husbandry practices, and diseases, prompting farmers to rear healthy productive focks with antimicrobials. Te study evaluated the knowledge and practices as regards the use of antibiotics among poultry farmers in Masindi district and determined the antibiotic susceptibility profles of E. coli strains from chickens. Methods. A cross•sectional study using a closed•end questionnaire was conducted in 140 selected small•scale commercial poultry farms in Masindi district between June and December, 2020. Analyzed qualitative data were presented as frequencies, percentages, and their 95% confdence intervals (95% CI). Fecal swabs from chickens were inoculated onto a MacConkey agar, and E. coli was confrmed by standard biochemical tests. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by the disk difusion method for 7 antibiotics. Results. Most farmers (74%) used antibiotics, mainly tetracycline (51.4%) and sulfonamides (28.6%), given to the chicks (45%), for both curative and prophylaxis purposes (80%), and via drinking water (67%). Farmers mainly used antibiotics recommended by the veterinarian (76.4%), more than relying on experience (10.7%), while 45% were involved in self•medicating the birds. On choosing the correct dosage, 45.7% read the instruction, and 42.9% consulted a veterinarian. Only 10.7% observed the drug withdrawal period, while 53.6% consumed eggs at home or sold eggs (35.7%) from birds under treatment. Of the 200 E. coli strains, 90 (45.0%) were resistant to one drug, 74 (37.0%) to two, and multidrug resistance to three classes of antibiotics was 36 (18.0%). Overall, E. coli resistance to tetracycline was (69.0%), ampicillin (37.0%), sulfonamides (36.0%), and to kanamycin (1.5%). Conclusions. Te small•scale poultry farmers frequently use antimicrobial drugs, mainly tetracycline and sulfonamides for curative and prophylaxis. Tus, enforcing measures against antibiotic use supported by a strong veterinary service sector and farmers’ training on judicious use of antimicrobials are needed. 1. Background Almost all rural and peri•urban homesteads in Uganda are engaged in agriculture, a sector that employs over 70% of the population 1]. Around 35 million birds are reared, mainly as free•ranging indigenous chickens (80%), with the rest under the intensive management of exotic breeds 1]. In comparison to other livestock, poultry production is growing at a faster rate due to the high national and regional demands. Consumption of poultry and poultry products is acceptable in most cultures, supporting food security, nutrition, and livelihoods for the rural poor 2]. Regardless, poultry production faces severe challenges such as poor husbandry practices, low•quality feeds, sanitary and housing defciencies 3, 4] associated with the emergence of path• ogens, and high disease burden. Inevitably, farmers opt to use antimicrobials for treatment and/or prevention of dis• eases and promotion of rapid growth 5, 6]. Without doubt, the irrational use of antimicrobials in animals is a major contributor to increased antimicrobial resistance (AMR) 7, 8] and the emergence of multidrug• resistant (MDR) bacteria which is of global health concern Hindawi Veterinary Medicine International Volume 2023, Article ID 6644271, 10 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/6644271