LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Taking animals off antibiotics is not likely to reduce the growing problem of resistant bugs.
That is the conclusion of a North Carolina State University researcher who has collected thousands of samples from pigs that received antibiotics and those in drug free programs.
“When it comes to antibiotic resistant pathogens, there is a pretty significant reservoir of these pathogens in the environment, and we see a good exchange within the pigs and the environment,” Sid Thakur, a professor of population health and pathobiology, told the National Institute of Animal Agriculture meeting held April 15-18 in Louisville.
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He and his assistants studied campylobacter in a two year research program and found the level of antimicrobial resistant populations in both groups of pigs were genetically matched. He suspected the problem went beyond the pigs.
He found resistant strains residing in the animals as well as in soil, water, manure and barn floors.
Global trends in the last few decades show resistant strains have increased dramatically. Good bacteria can go bad because they are constantly evolving.
The public often links resistant strains to the use of antibiotics to treat livestock for disease and medication added to feed to prevent illness.
However, Thakur said some products have not been used for 10 years and resistant microbes are still found. He suspects they are thriving in the environment.
DNA fingerprinting is being done on the various strains, and Thakur is trying to figure out how the pathogens evolve or might be different in various locations.
“When you break down these different microbes, we found a range of resistance to various antimicrobials,” he said.
He has also inspected bacteria on livestock trucks and collected samples from pigs, wash stations and slaughter plants.
Trucks have to be washed and cleaned between loads of pigs. He sampled dirty trucks at four washing stations, looking for salmonella and campylobacter.
He suspects the trucks picked up new bacteria because the washing stations used recycled water.
He found that salmonella and campylobacter strains in pigs were different between the farm and the packing plant. However, when he sampled the feces, he found the bacteria strains at the processor were the same as those found in the trucks.
