Beef in Uganda Found Loaded With Leftover Antibiotic

Scientists in Uganda tested beef sold in Gomba district and found something alarming. Most of the meat contained leftover traces of a powerful antibiotic drug called oxytetracycline, or OTC. The drug is used to treat sick cattle, but when too much of it stays in the meat, it can harm the people who eat it. The researchers also asked local farmers how much they knew about these drug leftovers, called residues.

Out of 432 beef samples tested, 321 — about 74 percent — contained OTC residues. Even more worrying, 244 of those positive samples had residue levels higher than the safe limits set by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Kidney tissue had the highest levels of OTC, followed by liver, and then muscle. The average OTC level in kidneys was nearly three times the allowed safe limit.

Farmers use OTC to fight infections in their cattle herds. The problem is that many farmers give the drug at the wrong time, in the wrong amount, or sell animals before the drug has fully left the body. The waiting time between giving a drug and selling an animal is called the 'withdrawal period.' When farmers skip this waiting time, the drug stays trapped in the meat and ends up on people's plates.

There are very few trained vets — animal doctors — in Gomba district. Because of this shortage, many farmers treat their own animals. The instructions on drug packages are written in English, but many farmers cannot read English or cannot read at all. Some farmers also sell sick animals quickly because they are afraid the animal will die and they will lose all their money.

Meat inspectors also face a big problem. They can only look at and touch the meat during checks, and that is not enough to spot invisible drug residues. 'We don't have the capacity to detect the level of these residues in beef. Having equipment for rapid detection in the field would greatly help in preventing the sale of meat with drug levels above acceptable limits,' one inspector told researchers.

Almost all farmers surveyed — 98 percent — said they had heard of OTC, and 96 percent said they had used it. But only 76 percent knew that OTC residues in beef could be harmful to people. Of those who knew, 65 percent believed it could cause cancer and 26 percent linked it to drug resistance, which is when medicines stop working because bacteria get used to them.

The study found that gender, education level, and who gives the drug to animals all affected how aware a farmer was about OTC risks. Men knew more because they are more involved in cattle farming in Uganda. Farmers with more years of school were also more aware. Women, who have less involvement in cattle farming, tended to know less about the dangers of OTC residues.

Researchers say Uganda needs stronger rules for buying and using veterinary drugs, more vets in rural areas, and better testing tools for meat inspectors. Without these changes, people in Gomba district may keep eating beef with unsafe levels of leftover antibiotics. This problem is not only dangerous for Uganda — drug resistance caused by antibiotic misuse is a growing threat to health across the entire world.