Vet World Vol.18 February-2025 Article - 27
Research Article
Veterinary World, 18(2): 519-526
https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2025.519-526
Veterinarians’ perspectives on livestock diseases and antimicrobial use in Palestine
Background and Aim: The livestock sector is a crucial component of Palestine’s agricultural economy, supporting food security and rural livelihoods. However, challenges such as infectious diseases, limited diagnostic resources, and antimicrobial misuse impact animal health and public safety. This study investigates veterinarians’ perspectives on disease prevalence and antimicrobial use in Palestinian livestock, providing the first comprehensive analysis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in veterinary practice in the region.
Materials and Methods: A qualitative study was conducted using focus groups comprising 93 veterinarians from the West Bank, recruited through convenience and snowball sampling. A structured questionnaire collected data on disease prevalence and antimicrobial prescription patterns. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests were used to assess associations between demographic characteristics and veterinary practices.
Results: Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) were the most frequently diagnosed disease (87.5%), followed by gastroenteritis (79.2%) and mastitis (75.0%). Veterinarians predominantly prescribed broad-spectrum antimicrobials, including penicillins (50.5%), tetracyclines (48.4%), and macrolides (46.2%). The use of antimicrobials classified as critically important for human medicine, such as quinolones (43.0%) and third-generation cephalosporins (46.2%), was notable. Some instances of banned antimicrobial use, such as chloramphenicol, were also reported.
Conclusion: The findings highlight the reliance on empirical antimicrobial treatments and the widespread use of broad-spectrum and human-critical antimicrobials, raising concerns about AMR development. Improved antimicrobial stewardship, diagnostic capabilities, and regulatory frameworks are necessary to mitigate these risks. Policies promoting culture and sensitivity testing, along with targeted antimicrobial use, will enhance veterinary disease management and safeguard public health in Palestine.
Keywords: antimicrobial resistance, antimicrobial stewardship, livestock diseases, Palestine, veterinary medicine.
How to cite this article: Alzuheir IM (2025) Veterinarians’ perspectives on livestock diseases and antimicrobial use in Palestine, Veterinary World, 18(2): 519-526.
Received: 2024-10-18 Accepted: 2025-01-29 Published online: 2025-02-27
Corresponding author: E-mail:
DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2025.519-526
Copyright: Alzuheir. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/ publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
