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Antimicrobial Resistance in Animals: Economic Impact and Public Health Significance

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A special issue of Veterinary Sciences (ISSN 2306-7381). This special issue belongs to the section "Veterinary Food Safety and Zoonosis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2022) | Viewed by 21882

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Chengming Wang

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Guest Editor

Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
Interests: molecular diagnostics; AMR; pathogens with zoonotic potentials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In veterinary medicine, antimicrobial agents have been used historically to treat infections or used in feed additives for metaphylaxis. Most antimicrobials approved for use in humans also have been used, to varying degrees, for treatment of infections in either food-producing or companion animals. This use has been associated with an increased trend toward antimicrobial resistance in animal pathogens and may impose limitations on the therapeutic options to treat infections caused by resistant microorganisms. The emergence of antimicrobial resistance in veterinary medicine is a major public health concern globally. While judicious use of antimicrobials is difficult to define and even more difficult to apply, it is imperative to understand the level and mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance in animals, its economic impact and public health significance.

This Special Issue entitled “Antimicrobial Resistance in Animals: Economic Impact and Public Health Significance” intends to showcase the current knowledge and latest advances in the sphere of antimicrobial resistance in animals. Therefore, we invite the submission of original research articles, case studies, short reports, or reviews that highlight the prevalence and genetic mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance in animals and the transmission of resistant bacteria from food-producing and companion animals to humans.

We welcome and look forward to your contribution.

Prof. Dr. Chengming Wang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Veterinary Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

antimicrobial resistance
animals
public health
antimicrobial-resistant bacteria
one health

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 238 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Risk Analysis of 24 Residual Antibiotics in Poultry Eggs in Shandong, China (2018–2020)

by Xiaoyu Ma, Ling Chen, Lingling Yin, Youzhi Li, Xiuzhen Yang, Zhiguo Yang, Guihua Li and Hu Shan

Vet. Sci. 2022, 9(3), 126; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci9030126 - 10 Mar 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3482

Abstract

Although antibiotics have played a certain positive role in the prevention and treatment of poultry diseases, as well as the promotion of poultry growth, some farmers use antibiotics in an incorrect way in the breeding process, resulting in antibiotic residues in poultry tissues, organs and edible products. Residual antibiotics enter the human body through the food chain and accumulate, which not only causes poisoning and allergic reactions, but also drug resistance of pathogenic microorganisms, thus endangering the health of consumers. In this investigation, the residues of 24 antibiotics, including fluoroquinolones, sulfonamides, macrolides, tetracyclines, antivirals, lincomycin and florfenicol, were analyzed in 1211 poultry egg samples in Shandong, China, from 2018 to 2020. Then, based on the per capita intake of poultry eggs recommended in the dietary guidelines of Chinese residents, the maximum residue limit of veterinary drugs specified in Chinese regulations and the average weight of males and females aged 18 and over in 2020, the risk of residual antibiotics was evaluated by International Food Safety indices (IFS). The detection results showed that 104 of 1211 samples were detected with antibiotic residues, with a detection rate of 8.58%. Among them, the main residues were enrofloxacin, sulfonamides and florfenicol. The IFS calculation results showed that the IFS of residual antibiotics ranged from 1.44 × 10⁻⁷ to 0.102. Therefore, although enrofloxacin, sarafloxacin, danofloxacin, sulfonamides, tilmicosin, doxycycline, florfenicol, which are banned during egg laying, were detected in poultry eggs in Shandong, these residues did not pose a threat to the health of Chinese adult consumers, according to the daily dietary habits of Chinese people. However, it is strongly suggested that Shandong should strengthen the monitoring of antibiotic use during egg laying. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial Resistance in Animals: Economic Impact and Public Health Significance)

12 pages, 2356 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli through Pfs Affects the Tran-Scription of Membrane Proteins to Resist β-Lactam Antibiotics

by Jiangang Hu, Chuanyan Che, Wei Jiang, Zhaoguo Chen, Jian Tu, Xiangan Han and Kezong Qi

Vet. Sci. 2022, 9(3), 98; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci9030098 - 23 Feb 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3191

Abstract

Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) is a causative agent of colibacillosis, one of the principal causes of morbidity and mortality in poultry worldwide. Nowadays, antibiotics are mainly used to prevent and control poultry colibacillosis, but the situation of drug resistance is serious. 5′-methylthioadenosine/S-adenosylhomocysteine nucleosidase (Pfs) is involved in methylation reactions, polyamine synthesis, vitamin synthesis, and quorum sensing (QS) pathways. In this study, compared with the APEC wild-type strain DE17, the pfs deletion strain DE17Δpfs was more susceptible to β-lactam antibiotics (amoxicillin, ceftazidime, cefuroxime) by drug sensitivity test and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and the MIC of the DE17Δpfs was half that of the DE17. Quorum sensing signal molecule AI-2 is involved in antibiotic resistance. In the case of pfs inactivation, the DE17Δpfs cannot synthesize AI-2, so it is necessary to add AI-2 to study whether it affects APEC resistance. When the exogenous AI-2 was added, the MIC of all APEC did not change. Transcriptome sequencing indicated that the transcription levels of a lot of outer membrane protein genes and metabolic genes had changed due to the deletion of pfs. Moreover, the transcription levels of the efflux pump gene tolC and penicillin binding protein (fstI and mrcA) were significantly reduced (p < 0.05), while the transcription levels of the porin protein genes (ompF, ompC, and ompD) were significantly increased (p < 0.05). In addition, it was also found that the outer membrane permeability of the DE17Δpfs was significantly increased (p < 0.05). The results indicated that pfs does not affect APEC strain DE17 resistance to β-lactam antibiotics through AI-2, but pfs affects the sensitivity of APEC to β-lactam antibiotics by affecting antibiotic-related genes. This study can provide a reference for screening new drug targets. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial Resistance in Animals: Economic Impact and Public Health Significance)

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10 pages, 1903 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Isolation, Serovar Identification, and Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Avibacterium paragallinarum from Chickens in China from 2019 to 2020

by Mengjiao Guo, Xiufang Chen, Hao Zhang, Donghui Liu, Yantao Wu and Xiaorong Zhang

Vet. Sci. 2022, 9(1), 27; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci9010027 - 12 Jan 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3058

Abstract

Infectious coryza is an acute infectious respiratory disease in chickens that is caused by Avibacterium paragallinarum (A. paragallinarum). Infectious coryza has major economic effects due to decreased egg production in growing birds and slowed growth in broilers. In this study, we isolated and identified 40 strains of A. paragallinarum from chickens that showed typical clinical signs of coryza in part of China from 2019 to 2020. Using a hemagglutination-inhibition test, 11 isolates were identified as serovar A, 10 isolates were identified as serovar B, and 19 isolates were identified as serovar C. Antimicrobial sensitivity tests showed that high minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were encountered for compounds sulfamethoxine sodium and oxytetracycline hydrochloride. Especially, of the 40 A. paragallinarum isolates, 30% had an MIC value of compound sulfamethoxine sodium of 64 μg/mL, 10% of 128 μg/mL, and 15% of 256 μg/mL. For oxytetracycline hydrochloride, 85% of isolates showed MIC values of 64 μg/mL or more. Excitingly, the MIC values of β-lactamase (amoxicillin, ampicillin, and ceftiofur) were low, with 77.5%, 70%, and 92.5% of isolates having an MIC value of ≤1 μg/mL, respectively. Our results may provide a reference for the treatment of infectious coryza. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial Resistance in Animals: Economic Impact and Public Health Significance)

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9 pages, 273 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparative Analysis of Chloramphenicol-Resistant Enterococcus faecalis Isolated from Dairy Companies in Korea

by Sung Hyun Bae, Sunghyun Yoon, Koeun Kim, Yeong Bin Kim and Young Ju Lee

Vet. Sci. 2021, 8(8), 143; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci8080143 - 27 Jul 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3044

Abstract

Although chloramphenicol is currently banned from use in livestock, other phenicols, such as florfenicol and thiamphenicol, have been used for the treatment of bacterial infections in domestic cattle in Korea. This study compares the characteristics of chloramphenicol-resistant Enterococcus faecalis isolated from the bulk tank milk of four major dairy companies in Korea. Although the distribution of multidrug resistance patterns showed no significant differences between the four companies, 85 chloramphenicol-resistant Enterococcus faecalis isolates showed a significantly high number of resistances against five or six antimicrobial classes (37.6%, respectively) (p < 0.05). When analyzing the distribution of phenicol resistance genes, 31 (36.5%) isolates only carried the catA gene, and two (6.3%) isolates from company A only carried the cfr gene. No isolates carried the catB or fexA genes. Regarding the distribution of other resistance genes, both the tetL and tetM (45.9%), ermB (82.4%), and both aac(6″)-Ie-aph(2″)-la and ant(6′)-Ia genes (30.6%) showed a high prevalence, and the optrA and poxtA genes were observed separately, each in only two (2.4%) isolates. Our results confirm that the dissemination of chloramphenicol-resistant Enterococcus faecalis and some antimicrobial resistance genes show significant differences between dairy companies. Therefore, our results support that each dairy company should undertake effective surveillance programs to better understand and minimize the emergence of resistance on a multidisciplinary level. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial Resistance in Animals: Economic Impact and Public Health Significance)

Review

Jump to: Research

10 pages, 623 KiB

Open AccessReview

Flies as Vectors and Potential Sentinels for Bacterial Pathogens and Antimicrobial Resistance: A Review

by Ji-Hang Yin, Patrick John Kelly and Chengming Wang

Vet. Sci. 2022, 9(6), 300; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci9060300 - 16 Jun 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3506

Abstract

The unique biology of flies and their omnipresence in the environment of people and animals makes them ideal candidates to be important vectors of antimicrobial resistance genes. Consequently, there has been increasing research on the bacteria and antimicrobial resistance genes that are carried by flies and their role in the spread of resistance. In this review, we describe the current knowledge on the transmission of bacterial pathogens and antimicrobial resistance genes by flies, and the roles flies might play in the maintenance, transmission, and surveillance of antimicrobial resistance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial Resistance in Animals: Economic Impact and Public Health Significance)

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16 pages, 5377 KiB

Open AccessReview

Antimicrobial Resistance in Companion Animals: A New Challenge for the One Health Approach in the European Union

by Ana Marco-Fuertes, Clara Marin, Laura Lorenzo-Rebenaque, Santiago Vega and Laura Montoro-Dasi

Vet. Sci. 2022, 9(5), 208; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci9050208 - 24 Apr 2022

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4526

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the increase in multi-resistant bacteria are among the most important threats to public health worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Moreover, this issue is underpinned by the One Health perspective, due to the ability of AMR to be transmitted between animals and humans living in the same environment. Therefore, since 2014 different surveillance and control programmes have been established to control AMR in commensal and zoonotic bacteria in production animals. However, public health authorities’ reports on AMR leave out companion animals, due to the lack of national programmes and data collection by countries. This missing information constitutes a serious public health concern due to the close contact between companion animals, humans and their surrounding environment. This absence of control and harmonisation between programmes in European countries leads to the ineffectiveness of antibiotics against common diseases. Thus, there is a pressing need to establish adequate surveillance and monitoring programmes for AMR in companion animals and further develop alternatives to antibiotic use in this sector, considering the impact this could have on the gut microbiota. In this context, the aim of this review is to evaluate the current control and epidemiological situations of AMR in companion animals in the European Union (EU), as well as the proposed alternatives to antibiotics. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial Resistance in Animals: Economic Impact and Public Health Significance)

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