Mandarin farmers' knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to antibiotic use in mandarin orchards and the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in mandarin orchard workers in Fang district, Chiang Mai province, Thailand

Background and Aim: Inappropriate antibiotic use in the agricultural sector is a crucial driver of antibiotic resistance which is a global public health concern. Although there are many studies on antibiotic use in livestock production, studies on antibiotic use in crop production are relatively scarce. This study aimed to determine farmers' knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) toward antibiotic use in Mandarin orchard and investigate their associations with the antibiotic susceptibility patterns among Mandarin orchard farmers in Fang District, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Fang District between November and December 2021. The participants in this study were 151 farmers (farm owners and farm workers) in ten Mandarin orchards. All participants completed face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire. Nasal swabs were collected from 100 participants. The disk diffusion and staphylococcal chromosome cassette mec typing methods were used to test the antibiotic susceptibility of the isolates. Results: All farmers involved in the activities related to antibiotic exposure, 39.7% prepared or mixed antibiotics, and 82.8% injected antibiotics into Mandarin trees. Overall, farmers in this study had moderate levels of knowledge and attitudes and good antibiotic use practices. There was a significant association between attitudes and practices (r = 0.312, p < 0.001). In the analysis of drug resistance of the bacterial isolates, Staphylococcus aureus was detected in 16 of 100 nasal swab samples, with resistance to penicillin (16/16), methicillin (cefoxitin) (1/16), and tetracycline (6/16). Conclusion: This is the first report on farmers' and farm workers' KAP and antibiotic use in crop production, specifically Mandarin production. The findings of this research will help in developing plans and strategies to encourage the appropriate use of antibiotics and prevent antibiotic resistance or microbial resistance in plant production. Keywords: antibiotic use, attitudes, farmers, knowledge, mandarin orchard, practices.