title: Screening food-borne and zoonotic pathogens associated with livestock practices in the Sumapaz region, Cundinamarca, Colombia.
abstract: Hazardous practices regarding antibiotics misuse, unsanitary milking procedures, and the commercial sales of raw milk and unpasteurized dairy products are currently being practiced by livestock farmers in the Sumapaz region (Colombia). The purpose of this study was to screen for food-borne and zoonotic pathogens associated with local livestock practices. We evaluated 1098 cows from 46 livestock farms in the Sumapaz region that were selected by random. Of the total population of cattle, 962 animals (88%) were tested for bovine TB using a caudal-fold tuberculin test and 546 (50%) for brucellosis by a competitive ELISA. In the population tested, 23 cows were positive for Brucella sp. representing a 4.2% seroprevalence and no cases of bovine tuberculosis were found. In addition, food-borne contamination with Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus was assessed together with antibiotic susceptibility for ten different antibiotics in milk samples from 16 livestock farms. We found that 12 of the farms (75%) were contaminated with these food-borne pathogens. Noteworthy, all of the isolated pathogenic strains were resistant to multiple antibiotics, primarily to oxytetracycline and erythromycin. Our findings suggest that livestock products could be a source of exposure to Brucella and multidrug-resistant E. coli and S. aureus strains as a result of unhygienic livestock practices in the Sumapaz region. Training in good farming practices is the key to improving safety in food production.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Universidad de Cundinamarca, Diagonal 18 No. 20-29, Fusagasugá, Cundinamarca, 252211, Colombia.
authors.forename: Nelson E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Arenas
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Universidad de Cundinamarca, Diagonal 18 No. 20-29, Fusagasugá, Cundinamarca, 252211, Colombia.
authors.forename: Diego A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Abril
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Universidad de Cundinamarca, Diagonal 18 No. 20-29, Fusagasugá, Cundinamarca, 252211, Colombia.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Valencia
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230, Odense M, Denmark.
authors.forename: Surabhi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Khandige
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Carrera 30, No. 45-03, Ciudad Universitaria, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Carlos Yesid
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Soto
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Universidad de Cundinamarca, Diagonal 18 No. 20-29, Fusagasugá, Cundinamarca, 252211, Colombia. vilma@mail.unicundi.edu.co.
authors.forename: Vilma
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Moreno-Melo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D002002:Brucella / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000662:veterinary*; D002417:Cattle; D003105:Colombia; D003256:Community Participation; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology; D000067565:Farmers; D005260:Female; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D008892:Milk / Q000737:chemistry; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology; D014374:Tuberculin Test; D014380:Tuberculosis, Bovine / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000175:diagnosis*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
keywords: Antibiotic resistance; Bovine brucellosis; Bovine tuberculosis; Escherichia coli; Staphylococcus aureus; Zoonoses