Search results

Background: In the Netherlands, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is monitored in commensal indicator Escherichia coli from healthy broilers at slaughter as part of a European monitoring programme. In a separate programme for poultry health, AMR is monitored in veterinary pathogens from diseased broilers. So far, it is unknown how the outcomes of these two AMR monitoring approaches in the same animal population are associated. Aims: This study aims to investigate the association between the outcomes of monitoring non-wildtype susceptibility (using epidemiological cut-off values, ECOFF, as prescribed by EU legislation) in commensal E. coli isolated from healthy broilers (i.e. active surveillance) with the outcomes of monitoring clinical resistance (using clinical breakpoints, to determine susceptibility for antibiotic treatment in veterinary practice) in E. coli isolated from diseased broilers (i.e. passive surveillance). Methods: Data acquired by broth microdilution was analysed for commensal indicator E. coli and clinical E. coli from the Netherlands, 2014–2019. A generalized linear multivariable model (Poisson regression) was used to determine time trends and identify differences in mean resistant proportions. Results: Observed resistant proportions of the monitored commensal E. coli and clinical E. coli were similar with overlapping confidence intervals for most time points for ampicillin, gentamicin, cefotaxime, tetracycline, colistin and trimethoprim/sulfonamide. The statistical analysis showed that only for cefotaxime and tetracycline, mean resistant proportions were different. In commensal E. coli, a decrease of resistant proportions over time was observed, except for gentamicin. In clinical E. coli, no time trend was detected in resistant proportions, except for cefotaxime and colistin. Conclusions: Generally, the resistant proportions monitored in commensal and clinical E. coli were similar. However, some relevant differences were found, which can be explained by the type of monitoring approach, i.e. ...

This work was supported by the EU Network of Excellence Med-Vet-Net (WP 21), the ''Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria'' of the ''Instituto de Salud Carlos III'' (FIS PI11-00808, Spain), co-funded by European Regional Development Fund of the European Union: a way to making Europe, and the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR: 46-001, 45-004, Germany). PG was the recipient of a grant from the ''Fundación para el Fomento en Asturias de la Investigación Científica Aplicada y la Tecnología'' (FICYT, Ref. BP08-031). She performed a short stay at the Department of Biological Safety of the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Berlin, Germany, supported by the same grant. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Background: The project "Antibiotic resistance in bacteria of animal origin - II" (ARBAO-II) was funded by the European Union (FAIR5-QLK2-2002-01146) for the period 2003-05. The aim of this project was to establish a program for the continuous monitoring of antimicrobial susceptibility of pathogenic and indicator bacteria from food animals using validated and harmonised methodologies. In this report the first data on the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance among bacteria causing infections in pigs are reported. Methods: Susceptibility data from 17,642 isolates of pathogens and indicator bacteria including Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, Streptococcus suis and Escherichia coli isolated from pigs were collected from fifteen European countries in 2002-2004. Results: Data for A. pleuropneumoniae from infected pigs were submitted from five countries. Most of the isolates from Denmark were susceptible to all drugs tested with the exceptions of a low frequency of resistance to tetracycline and trimethoprim - sulphonamide. Data for S. suis were obtained from six countries. In general, a high level of resistance to tetracycline (48.0 - 92.0%) and erythromycin (29.1 - 75.0%) was observed in all countries whereas the level of resistance to ciprofloxacin and penicillin differed between the reporting countries. Isolates from England (and Wales), France and The Netherlands were all susceptible to penicillin. In contrast the proportion of strains resistant to ciprofloxacin ranged from 12.6 to 79.0% (2004) and to penicillin from 8.1 - 13.0% (2004) in Poland and Portugal. Data for E. coli from infected and healthy pigs were obtained from eleven countries. The data reveal a high level of resistance to tetracyclines, streptomycin and ampicillin among infected pigs whereas in healthy pigs the frequency of resistance was lower. Conclusion: Bacterial resistance to some antimicrobials was frequent with different levels of resistance being observed to several antimicrobial agents in different countries. The occurrence of resistance varied distinctly between isolates from healthy and diseased pigs, with the isolates from healthy pigs generally showing a lower level of resistance than those from diseased pigs. The study suggests that the choice of antimicrobials used for the treatment of diseased animals should preferably be based on knowledge of the local pattern of resistance.

Background: The project "Antibiotic resistance in bacteria of animal origin - II" (ARBAO-II) was funded by the European Union (FAIR5-QLK2-2002-01146) for the period 2003 - 2005, with the aim to establish a continuous monitoring of antimicrobial susceptibility among veterinary laboratories in European countries based on validated and harmonised methodologies. Available summary data of the susceptibility testing of the bacterial pathogens from the different laboratories were collected. Method: Antimicrobial susceptibility data for several bovine pathogens were obtained over a three year period (2002-2004). Each year the participating laboratories were requested to fill in excelfile templates with national summary data on the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance from different bacterial species. A proficiency test (EQAS - external quality assurance system) for antimicrobial susceptibility testing was conducted each year to test the accuracy of antimicrobial susceptibility testing in the participating laboratories. The data from this testing demonstrated that for the species included in the EQAS the results are comparable between countries. Results: Data from 25,241 isolates were collected from 13 European countries. For Staphylococcus aureus from bovine mastitis major differences were apparent in the occurrence of resistance between countries and between the different antimicrobial agents tested. The highest frequency of resistance was observed for penicillin. For Mannheimia haemolytica resistance to ampicillin, tetracycline and trimethoprim/sulphonamide were observed in France, the Netherlands and Portugal. All isolates of Pasteurella multocida isolated in Finland and most of those from Denmark, England (and Wales), Italy and Sweden were susceptible to the majority of the antimicrobials. Streptococcus dysgalactiae and Streptococcus uberis isolates from Sweden were fully susceptible. For the other countries some resistance was observed to tetracycline, gentamicin and erythromycin. More resistance and variation of the resistance levels between countries were observed for Escherichia coli compared to the other bacterial species investigated. Conclusion: In general, isolates from Denmark, England (and Wales), the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland showed low frequencies of resistance, whereas many isolates from Belgium, France, Italy, Latvia and Spain were resistant to most antimicrobials tested. In the future, data on the prevalence of resistance should be used to develop guidelines for appropriate antimicrobial use in veterinary medicine.

A total of 502 Campylobacter jejuni isolates from poultry in 12 different European countries (10 of them the largest poultry production countries in Europe) were whole genome sequenced to examine the genomic diversity of fluoroquinolone resistant (FQ‐R) and susceptible (FQ‐S) C. jejuni across the poultry producing European countries and to determine whether the emergence of fluoroquinolone resistance among C. jejuni is related to the transmission through countries or to the selection through fluoroquinolone use in the individual countries. A high genomic diversity was observed. The isolates clustered in four main clusters. All trees revealed that the isolates were clustered according to the presence/absence of the gyrA mutations causing fluoroquinolone resistance and ST‐types. The cgMLST trees of only FQ‐R and FQ‐S isolates showed that isolates from the same country of origin were distributed into multiple clusters similarly to the trees combining FQ‐R and FQ‐S isolates. The different phylogenetic methods, ranging from single nucleotide polymorphisms analysis to gene‐by‐gene approaches such as rMLST, cgMLST, wgMLST and core genome tree, provided concordant results, but it is not known which is the most accurate method for identifying the country of origin of the isolates. Allele frequency analysis of isolates under this study and a selection of previously published C. jejuni genomes in ENA showed association of geographical origin of poultry C. jejuni populations between Romania‐Poland, Italy‐Germany‐England, Portugal‐The Netherlands and USA‐Luxemburg. Allele frequency and phylogenetic analysis indicated that the isolates from Finland were genetically different from C. jejuni populations from other European countries included in this study. Trade pattern and antimicrobial use in livestock were not significantly associated with allele frequency or populations of C. jejuni, but data available to investigate these associations were limited.