title: Antimicrobial resistance of zoonotic and commensal bacteria in Europe: the missing link between consumption and resistance in veterinary medicine.
abstract: The emergence of resistance in food animals has been associated to the consumption of antimicrobials in veterinary medicine. Consequently, monitoring programs have been designed to monitor the occurrence of antimicrobial resistant bacteria. This study analyses the amount of antimicrobial agents used in nine European countries from 2005 to 2011, and compares by univariate analysis the correlations between consumptions of each of the following antimicrobial classes; tetracycline, penicillins, cephalosporins, quinolones and macrolides. An overview of resistance in zoonotic and commensal bacteria in Europe focusing on Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Campylobacter sp. and Enterococcus sp., during the same period of time based on monitoring programs is also assessed. With the exception of cephalosporins, linear regressions showed strong positive associations between the consumption of the four different antimicrobial classes. Substantial differences between countries were observed in the amount of antimicrobials used to produce 1 kg of meat. Moreover, large variations in proportions of resistant bacteria were reported by the different countries, suggesting differences in veterinary practice. Despite the withdrawn of a specific antimicrobial from "on farm" use, persistence over the years of bacteria resistant to this particular antimicrobial agent, was still observed. There were also differences in trends of resistance associated to specific animal species. In order to correlate the use of antimicrobial agents to the presence of resistance, surveillance of antimicrobial consumption by animal species should be established. Subsequently, intervention strategies could be designed to minimize the occurrence of resistance.
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA), UAB-IRTA, Campus de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain; Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA), Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: lourdes.migura@cresa.uab.cat.
authors.forename: Lourdes
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Garcia-Migura
authors.affiliation: National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
authors.forename: Rene S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Hendriksen
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA), UAB-IRTA, Campus de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain; Universidad de Lleida, Departamento de Producción Animal, Lleida, Spain.
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fraile
authors.affiliation: National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
authors.forename: Frank M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Aarestrup
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed / Q000592:standards; D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects*; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D005060:Europe; D005516:Food Microbiology; D008460:Meat / Q000382:microbiology*; D014730:Veterinary Medicine / Q000639:trends
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
keywords: Antimicrobial resistance; Campylobacter; Consumption; Enterococci; Escherichia coli; Salmonella