Antibiotic use in mandarin production (<i>Citrus reticulata</i> Blanco) in major mandarin-producing areas in Thailand: A survey assessment

Background Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), one of the major global threats to human security, has serious negative consequences for both health and economies. Excessive and inappropriate uses of antibiotics are the main drivers of the emergence of resistant bacterial strains. In Thailand, antibiotics have been used in citrus production since 2012 to treat citrus greening disease or Huanglongbing disease, despite no antibiotics being registered for use in mandarin. This raises concerns about irrational use of antibiotics, which can cause AMR. Objective To assess the status of greening disease and the use of antibiotics in mandarin production. Method A face-to-face interview survey in 2017 with 221 mandarin growers in two major mandarin-producing areas. Findings Greening disease is one of the most serious diseases in mandarins and farmers in the two major mandarin-producing areas in Thailand used ampicillin, amoxicillin, tetracycline and penicillin to treat it. As no antibiotics are registered for use in plants, farmers used antibiotics (registered with the Thai Food and Drug Administration) for human use, either active pharmaceutical ingredients or finished products. They commonly purchased them from retail pharmacies or agrochemical suppliers. Farmers were influenced to use antibiotics by their orchard neighbours and advice from a few academics. The farmers injected antibiotics into the tree trunks approximately three to four times a year and stopped for more than two months before harvesting for in-season fruits. Conclusion Antibiotics registered for human use are being applied to control greening diseases. We recommend scaling up sustainable disease control measures and curtail the use of antibiotics through close and effective dialogue among ‘One Health’ partners.### 背景 抗菌素耐药性（Antimicrobial resistance, AMR）是威胁人类安全的全球主要威胁之一，对公共健康与国民经济均造成严重负面影响。抗生素的过度及不当使用是耐药菌株出现的核心驱动因素。自2012年起，泰国柑橘种植产业中便开始使用抗生素防治柑橘绿斑病（即黄龙病，Huanglongbing disease），尽管目前尚无获批可用于宽皮柑橘（mandarin）的抗生素登记注册。此举引发了学界对该类抗生素不合理使用的担忧，而此类不合理使用或进一步加剧抗菌素耐药性问题。 ### 研究目标 评估宽皮柑橘种植中的黄龙病发生现状与抗生素使用情况。 ### 研究方法 2017年针对泰国两大宽皮柑橘主产区的221名宽皮柑橘种植户开展面对面访谈调查。 ### 研究结果 黄龙病是宽皮柑橘最严重的病害之一，泰国两大宽皮柑橘主产区的种植户使用氨苄西林、阿莫西林、四环素及青霉素开展病害防治。由于尚无获批可用于植物的抗生素登记，种植户使用的是经泰国食品药品监督管理局（Thai Food and Drug Administration）注册的人用抗生素，包括原料药与成品制剂。种植户通常从零售药店或农资供应商处购得此类抗生素。种植户的抗生素使用行为受到果园邻户及部分学术人员建议的影响。种植户每年约向树干注射抗生素3至4次，并在当季果实采收前至少两个月停止用药。 ### 研究结论 当前存在使用人用注册抗生素防治黄龙病的现象。我们建议推广可持续病害防控措施，并通过“同一健康”（One Health）相关合作方开展紧密且有效的对话，以缩减抗生素的使用量。