The effect of subtherapeutic chlortetracycline on antimicrobial resistance in the fecal flora of swine.
The aims of this research were to determine the association between inclusion of subtherapeutic chlortetracycline in the diets of swine and the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella; define the association between inclusion of subtherapeutic chlortetracycline and antimicrobial resistance in the aerobic Gram-negative fecal flora of swine; and estimate the proportion of total model variance attributable to farm, pig, and colony level effects. There was no association between subtherapeutic chlortetracycline exposure and Salmonella prevalence. There were increased odds for an aerobic Gram-negative fecal isolate to be resistant to ampicillin, ceftriaxone, and tetracycline if isolated from a pig that received chlortetracycline. There was a positive association between inclusion of subtherapeutic chlortetracycline in the diet and resistance to multiple antimicrobials. The proportion of total variance associated with farm, pig, and colony varied based on the resistance phenotype. Because farm-level variance contributed a small proportion to total variance in all models, effects of antimicrobial use interventions observed in this study may be predictive of anticipated impact of interventions on most swine farms. Resources for future investigations may be better allocated to sampling more pigs and more bacterial colonies per pig in relationship to the number of farms.
Funk
Julie A
JA
Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA. funkj@cvm.msu.edu
Lejeune
Jeffrey T
JT
Wittum
Thomas E
TE
Rajala-Schultz
Päivi J
PJ
D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002751:Chlortetracycline / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D005503:Food Additives / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D012475:Salmonella / Q000187:drug effects*; D013552:Swine
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D005503:Food Additives; D002751:Chlortetracycline