Animal Vaccines as a Tool to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance: One-Health Perspective and Systematic Review
Md. Rimon Bhuiyan
*
Department of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi-6205, Bangladesh and Faculty of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi-6205, Bangladesh.
Md. Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan
Faculty of Social Sciences, Tejgaon College, Dhaka-1215, Bangladesh.
Syeda Shamapika Ahmed Shimi
Department of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi-6205, Bangladesh and Faculty of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi-6205, Bangladesh.
Mst. Roksana Akter
Faculty of Social Sciences, Government Bangla College, Dhaka-1216, Bangladesh.
Tasnia Anjum
Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi-6205, Bangladesh.
Sumit Sharma
Department of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi-6205, Bangladesh and Faculty of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi-6205, Bangladesh.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global health challenge driven in part by extensive antimicrobial use (AMU) in livestock production. Animal vaccination has been proposed as a One Health strategy to reduce infection-related antimicrobial use and mitigate the emergence and spread of AMR. However, the evidence supporting this relationship has not been comprehensively synthesized.
Aim: To systematically evaluate evidence on the impact of animal vaccination on AMU and AMR-related outcomes across livestock production systems and identify critical research gaps.
Methods: A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Five electronic databases and grey-literature sources were searched for studies published between January 2003 and March 2026. After screening and eligibility assessment, 74 studies and institutional reports were included. Data on vaccination interventions, antimicrobial use, and AMR-related outcomes were extracted and narratively synthesized. Study quality was assessed using ROBINS-I and Cochrane RoB 2.0 tools.
Results: Evidence consistently demonstrated that vaccination reduces antimicrobial use across aquaculture, swine, poultry, and cattle production systems. The strongest quantitative evidence was reported from Norwegian salmon aquaculture, where antibiotic consumption declined from 876 mg/kg biomass in 1987 to 0.43 mg/kg in 2024 following long-term vaccination programs. Similar reductions in therapeutic and metaphylactic antibiotic use were reported in vaccinated swine and cattle populations. Nevertheless, direct evidence linking vaccination to reductions in antimicrobial resistance remains limited. No randomized controlled trial identified in this review used AMR-specific endpoints such as resistome composition, antimicrobial resistance gene prevalence, or resistant pathogen burden. Most available evidence originated from high-income countries, with limited data from low- and middle-income regions.
Conclusion: Animal vaccination is an effective preventive strategy for reducing antimicrobial use in livestock and represents a promising component of One Health efforts to combat AMR. However, robust evidence demonstrating direct impacts on antimicrobial resistance remains insufficient. Future research should prioritize AMR-focused randomized trials, integrated One Health surveillance, longitudinal resistome studies, and greater investment in vaccine research and implementation, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
Keywords: Animal vaccines, antimicrobial resistance, one health, livestock, antimicrobial use reduction.