Lower Prevalence of Antibiotic-Resistant Enterococci on U.S. Conventional Poultry Farms that Transitioned to Organic Practices

Background: In U.S. conventional poultry production, antimicrobials are used for therapeutic, prophylactic, and nontherapeutic purposes. Researchers have shown that this can select for antibiotic-resistant commensal and pathogenic bacteria on poultry farms and in poultry-derived products. However, n...

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Autores principales: Sapkota, Amy R., Hulet, R. Michael, Zhang, Guangyu, McDermott, Patrick, Kinney, Erinna L., Schwab, Kellogg J., Joseph, Sam W.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences 2011
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3226496/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21827979
http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1003350
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author Sapkota, Amy R.
Hulet, R. Michael
Zhang, Guangyu
McDermott, Patrick
Kinney, Erinna L.
Schwab, Kellogg J.
Joseph, Sam W.
author_facet Sapkota, Amy R.
Hulet, R. Michael
Zhang, Guangyu
McDermott, Patrick
Kinney, Erinna L.
Schwab, Kellogg J.
Joseph, Sam W.
author_sort Sapkota, Amy R.
collection PubMed
description Background: In U.S. conventional poultry production, antimicrobials are used for therapeutic, prophylactic, and nontherapeutic purposes. Researchers have shown that this can select for antibiotic-resistant commensal and pathogenic bacteria on poultry farms and in poultry-derived products. However, no U.S. studies have investigated on-farm changes in resistance as conventional poultry farms transition to organic practices and cease using antibiotics. Objective: We investigated the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant Enterococcus on U.S. conventional poultry farms that transitioned to organic practices. Methods: Poultry litter, feed, and water samples were collected from 10 conventional and 10 newly organic poultry houses in 2008 and tested for Enterococcus. Enterococcus (n = 259) was identified using the Vitek(®) 2 Compact System and tested for susceptibility to 17 antimicrobials using the Sensititre™ microbroth dilution system. Data were analyzed using SAS software (version 9.2), and statistical associations were derived based on generalized linear mixed models. Results: Litter, feed, and water samples were Enterococcus positive. The percentages of resistant Enterococcus faecalis and resistant Enterococcus faecium were significantly lower (p < 0.05) among isolates from newly organic versus conventional poultry houses for two (erythromycin and tylosin) and five (ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, nitrofurantoin, penicillin, and tetracycline) antimicrobials, respectively. Forty-two percent of E. faecalis isolates from conventional poultry houses were multidrug resistant (MDR; resistant to three or more antimicrobial classes), compared with 10% of isolates from newly organic poultry houses (p = 0.02); 84% of E. faecium isolates from conventional poultry houses were MDR, compared with 17% of isolates from newly organic poultry houses (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the voluntary removal of antibiotics from large-scale U.S. poultry farms that transition to organic practices is associated with a lower prevalence of antibiotic-resistant and MDR Enterococcus.
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spelling pubmed-32264962012-01-04 Lower Prevalence of Antibiotic-Resistant Enterococci on U.S. Conventional Poultry Farms that Transitioned to Organic Practices Sapkota, Amy R. Hulet, R. Michael Zhang, Guangyu McDermott, Patrick Kinney, Erinna L. Schwab, Kellogg J. Joseph, Sam W. Environ Health Perspect Research Background: In U.S. conventional poultry production, antimicrobials are used for therapeutic, prophylactic, and nontherapeutic purposes. Researchers have shown that this can select for antibiotic-resistant commensal and pathogenic bacteria on poultry farms and in poultry-derived products. However, no U.S. studies have investigated on-farm changes in resistance as conventional poultry farms transition to organic practices and cease using antibiotics. Objective: We investigated the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant Enterococcus on U.S. conventional poultry farms that transitioned to organic practices. Methods: Poultry litter, feed, and water samples were collected from 10 conventional and 10 newly organic poultry houses in 2008 and tested for Enterococcus. Enterococcus (n = 259) was identified using the Vitek(®) 2 Compact System and tested for susceptibility to 17 antimicrobials using the Sensititre™ microbroth dilution system. Data were analyzed using SAS software (version 9.2), and statistical associations were derived based on generalized linear mixed models. Results: Litter, feed, and water samples were Enterococcus positive. The percentages of resistant Enterococcus faecalis and resistant Enterococcus faecium were significantly lower (p < 0.05) among isolates from newly organic versus conventional poultry houses for two (erythromycin and tylosin) and five (ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, nitrofurantoin, penicillin, and tetracycline) antimicrobials, respectively. Forty-two percent of E. faecalis isolates from conventional poultry houses were multidrug resistant (MDR; resistant to three or more antimicrobial classes), compared with 10% of isolates from newly organic poultry houses (p = 0.02); 84% of E. faecium isolates from conventional poultry houses were MDR, compared with 17% of isolates from newly organic poultry houses (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the voluntary removal of antibiotics from large-scale U.S. poultry farms that transition to organic practices is associated with a lower prevalence of antibiotic-resistant and MDR Enterococcus. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences 2011-08-10 2011-11 /pmc/articles/PMC3226496/ /pubmed/21827979 http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1003350 Text en http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/ Publication of EHP lies in the public domain and is therefore without copyright. All text from EHP may be reprinted freely. Use of materials published in EHP should be acknowledged (for example, ?Reproduced with permission from Environmental Health Perspectives?); pertinent reference information should be provided for the article from which the material was reproduced. Articles from EHP, especially the News section, may contain photographs or illustrations copyrighted by other commercial organizations or individuals that may not be used without obtaining prior approval from the holder of the copyright.
spellingShingle Research
Sapkota, Amy R.
Hulet, R. Michael
Zhang, Guangyu
McDermott, Patrick
Kinney, Erinna L.
Schwab, Kellogg J.
Joseph, Sam W.
Lower Prevalence of Antibiotic-Resistant Enterococci on U.S. Conventional Poultry Farms that Transitioned to Organic Practices
title Lower Prevalence of Antibiotic-Resistant Enterococci on U.S. Conventional Poultry Farms that Transitioned to Organic Practices
title_full Lower Prevalence of Antibiotic-Resistant Enterococci on U.S. Conventional Poultry Farms that Transitioned to Organic Practices
title_fullStr Lower Prevalence of Antibiotic-Resistant Enterococci on U.S. Conventional Poultry Farms that Transitioned to Organic Practices
title_full_unstemmed Lower Prevalence of Antibiotic-Resistant Enterococci on U.S. Conventional Poultry Farms that Transitioned to Organic Practices
title_short Lower Prevalence of Antibiotic-Resistant Enterococci on U.S. Conventional Poultry Farms that Transitioned to Organic Practices
title_sort lower prevalence of antibiotic-resistant enterococci on u.s. conventional poultry farms that transitioned to organic practices
topic Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3226496/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21827979
http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1003350
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