OHRIGAME
A One Health study investigating antimicrobial resistance linked to chicken meat and egg consumption, focusing on poultry production and UK–Vietnam cross-border food supply.
Project Overview
- Project name: One Health Rationale to Investigate the emerGence of AMR related to chicken Meat and Egg consumption (OHRIGAME)
- Species: Human, chicken
- Location: UK, Vietnam
- Start: 28th April 2025
- End: 27th April 2028
Research groups: AMR, Food safety, Food Systems, One Health Poultry Hub
Research centre: RVC Quantitative Biology
People: Pelligand, Calvo, Frosini, Tomley, Wey, Seo and Elton
About the Project
The aim of this project is to understand the fate of antimicrobial drugs in poultry productions in South-East Asia (Vietnam) and the transboundary movement into the UK of hazards for human health (antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial residues in meat).
Challenge
Global demand for animal protein is being met by intensification of livestock production especially chickens, where rapid industrialisation, particularly in Asia, is associated with increased use of antimicrobial drugs (AMD).
Overuse and misuse of AMDs in farming pose risks directly to local human populations due to:
- (i) selective amplification of resistant (AMR) bacteria in animals that spill over to the local environment and risk contamination of meat at slaughter
- (ii) the presence in food of active antimicrobial residues which pose a direct chemical risk to people and/or promote selection and amplification of resistant bacteria in the human gut
To limit exposure to food-derived AMD, maximal residue limits (MRL usually in µg/kg) are defined and should not be exceeded in food destined for human consumption. These are international standards that may limit capacity of a country to export production in case of non-compliance.
In two rounds of field work (One Health Poultry Hub), we used mass spectrometry and found non-compliance in 9.2% of 141 meat samples on sale to the public in Vietnam (100x higher than the EU). This was due most of the time to failure to plan for the mandatory drug withdrawal periods before slaughter but sometimes the cause was unidentified and possibly related to occult entry to AMD in the production system.
The UK supply chain of chicken meat is vulnerable to importation of hazards (AMR, residues) through international trade. Unintentional dietary intake through poultry products could pose a health risk to critical subpopulations of patients (e.g. liver transplant recipients) with increased incidences of gut dysbiosis and septic complications.
Solution
The OHRIGAME project aims to understand the fate of antimicrobial drugs in poultry productions in South-East Asia and the transboundary movement of hazards for human health (antimicrobial resistance AMR and antimicrobial residues in meat).
In the UK, this objective will be reached by:
- Screening imported meat from South-East Asia at ports of entries and in retail samples for these hazards
- Screening retail and hospital food for the presence of AMD residues
- Evaluating subclinical exposure to veterinary AMD and biliary microbiome of hospitalised patients admitted for liver investigative or surgical procedures
Impact
Antimicrobial resistance is a truly global problem, and therefore it affects the whole world at human, animal and environmental levels.
OHRIGAME is a multidisciplinary project that integrates transnational studies from biological and social science disciplines and is designed to influence policies and practices in Vietnam. The project is in synergistic alignment with the new UK AMR National Action Plan for 2024 to 2029 and the Decision No. 414/QD-TTg to strengthen Vietnam Veterinary Service System capacity.
Astute AMR diplomacy actions executed by our UK-Vietnam collaborative team will support improved AMD stewardship in poultry production in Vietnam and assist in securing safe food supply for Vietnamese consumers. Additional impact include de-risking the import market from Vietnam, while ensuring level playing fields with regards to AMD use globally.
For further information on the project, see our sister page on the RVC website.
Project Partners
We are a research and clinical hub dedicated to understanding, diagnosing and combating infectious diseases, including AMR. The Centre’s work spans key areas including molecular diagnosis, bacteriology, mycology, tuberculosis and the evolution of AMR, reflecting the practical challenges encountered in both clinical and research settings.
We have established collaborations with research sites around the world and have an increasing focus on AMR across One Health settings, including hospital and veterinary centres.
Our strengths lie in our interdisciplinary team of scientists and clinicians who contribute to international consortia and capacity-building initiatives, leveraging cutting edge methodologies including genomics and the hollow fibre system, to study AMR dynamics and support global health efforts.
We are closely linked to our hospital sites, including the Royal Free Hospital (RFH), in which we are based, and University College London Hospital (UCLH), enabling our research outcomes to inform antimicrobial stewardship, infection control and diagnostic innovation in healthcare settings.
In the context of OHRIGAME, CCM provides the expertise and laboratory capacity for the genomic aspects of the project. Metagenomic analysis of the microbial communities (microbiome) and AMR genes (resistome) from patients within the study will help understand the effect of exposure to antimicrobial residues from poultry-based hospital meals.
Dr Linzy Elton is a postdoctoral researcher based at CCM, with a strong research focus on using genomic approaches for infectious disease diagnostics and AMR surveillance, particularly in collaboration with partners in low- and middle-income countries across Africa.
In her work, she applies whole-genome sequencing and related genomic methods to detect and characterize resistant pathogens, support surveillance systems and build laboratory capacity.
Within the OHRIGAME project, she leads the development of the metagenomic protocols that will enable us to understand the effect of dietary antimicrobial residues on the patient microbiome.
The Royal Free Hospital (RFH) is a major teaching hospital in North London, recognised nationally and internationally for its excellence in multiple areas of medicine and surgery.
The RFH supports a broad portfolio of clinical studies and collaborative research across infectious diseases, immunology, and translational medicine, leveraging its affiliation with UCL and close ties to other specialist centres and hospitals. This integration ensures that cutting-edge laboratory science is closely aligned with frontline clinical insight and patient outcomes.
The RFH provides comprehensive acute care alongside specialist services in infectious diseases, and liver and kidney transplantation.
Transplant patients are more at risk from dietary antimicrobial residues, as long-term immunosuppression weakens their ability to control infections, increasing the likelihood that exposure to low levels of antimicrobials will select for resistant organisms that can cause severe, hard-to-treat infections in this already vulnerable patient group.
Due to its status as a transplant centre of excellence, the RFH is uniquely positioned to support OHRIGAME’s aims of providing evidence for global food security and the effects of international poultry production on at-risk end users.
Dr Emmanuel Wey is an experienced clinician specialising in infectious diseases and clinical microbiology at the RFH.
Within the transplant group, his role is to provide specialist infectious diseases expertise to support the care of immunocompromised transplant patients. He advises on the diagnosis, management and prevention of complex infections, including those caused by antimicrobial-resistant organisms, and leads antimicrobial stewardship and infection prevention strategies tailored to transplant settings.
Within the OHRIGAME project, Dr Wey leads the clinical and patient-centred aspects of sample collection and analysis.
Funders
UKRI-Southeast Asia collaboration on infectious diseases
Partners
- UCL (University College London)
- The Royal Free Hospital London (RFH)
- Viet Nam Institution of Animal and Veterinary Science (previously Vietnam National Institute for Veterinary Research – NIVR)
- Vietnam Veterinary National University of Agriculture (VUNA)
- Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
- French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES)
