Antimicrobial-resistant bacterial infections from foods of animal origin: understanding and effectively communicating to consumers

April 15, 2019
Posted in

Consumers are increasingly interested in the attributes of the food they consume. This includes what is in the food and how it was raised; and at least some consumers are willing to pay a premium for products with specific attributes. However, the current plethora of labels on the market does not adequately address this issue;…

Read More

From farm management to bacteriophage therapy: strategies to reduce antibiotic use in animal agriculture

April 15, 2019
Posted in

To reduce the use of antibiotics in animal agriculture, a number of effective or commercially viable alternatives have been implemented by food animal producers or are under development. Perhaps the most well-established strategies are flock and herd management practices to mitigate disease introduction and spread, and, subsequently, reduce the need for antibiotic use. While vaccines…

Read More

Complexities in understanding antimicrobial resistance across domesticated animal, human, and environmental systems

April 15, 2019
Posted in

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a significant threat to both human and animal health. The spread of AMR bacteria and genes across systems can occur through a myriad of pathways, both related and unrelated to agriculture, including via wastewater, soils, manure applications, direct exchange between humans and animals, and food exposure. Tracing origins and drivers of…

Read More

Critically important antibiotics: criteria and approaches for measuring and reducing their use in food animal agriculture

April 15, 2019
Posted in

Globally, increasing acquired antimicrobial resistance among pathogenic bacteria presents an urgent challenge to human and animal health. As a result, significant efforts, such as the One Health Initiative, are underway to curtail and optimize the use of critically important antimicrobials for human medicine in all applications, including food animal production. This review discusses the rationale…

Read More

Antimicrobial resistance in a One Health context: exploring complexities, seeking solutions, and communicating risks

April 15, 2019
Posted in

Four articles presented in this special issue of Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences stem from a meeting of experts on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in food animal production hosted by the New York Academy of Sciences on May 8 and 9, 2018. The articles discuss (1) competing considerations of the criticality of different…

Read More

The AVMA’s definitions of antimicrobial uses for prevention, control, and treatment of disease

March 15, 2019
Posted in

Recent state and federal legislative actions and current recommendations from the World Health Organization seem to suggest that, when it comes to antimicrobial stewardship, use of antimicrobials for prevention, control, or treatment of disease can be ranked in order of appropriateness, which in turn has led, in some instances, to attempts to limit or specifically…

Read More

Antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli and class 1 integrons in humans, domestic animals, and wild primates in rural Uganda

November 1, 2018
Posted in ,

Antibiotic resistance is a global concern, although it has been studied most extensively in developed countries. We studied Escherichia coliand class 1 integrons in western Uganda by analyzing 1,685 isolates from people, domestic animals, and wild nonhuman primates near two national parks. Overall, 499 isolates (29.6%) were resistant to at least one of 11 antibiotics tested.…

Read More

Systematic Review: Impact of point sources on antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the natural environment

February 5, 2018
Posted in

Point sources such as wastewater treatment plants and agricultural facilities may have a role in the dissemination of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARG). To analyse the evidence for increases in ARB in the natural environment associated with these point sources of ARB and ARG, we conducted a systematic review. We evaluated 5,247…

Read More

Impact of point sources on antibiotic resistance genes in the natural environment: a systematic review of the evidence

December 12, 2017
Posted in

There is a growing concern about the role of the environment in the dissemination of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARG). In this systematic review, we summarize evidence for increases of ARG in the natural environment associated with potential sources of ARB and ARG such as agricultural facilities and wastewater treatment plants.…

Read More

Longitudinal study of Staphylococcus aureus colonization and infection in a cohort of swine veterinarians in the United States

October 19, 2017
Posted in ,

BACKGROUND: People working with pigs are at elevated risk of harboring methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in their nose, which is attributable to occupational exposure to animals harboring livestock adapted S. aureus. To obtain insight into the biological nature of occupationally related nasal culture positivity, we conducted a longitudinal study of 66 swine veterinarians in…

Read More
thumbnail of Singer-JFP-QMRA-2017

Quantitative risk assessment of antimicrobial-resistant foodborne infections in humans due to recombinant bovine somatotropin usage in dairy cows

June 2, 2017
Posted in , , ,

Recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) is a production-enhancing technology that allows the dairy industry to produce milk more efficiently. Concern has been raised that cows supplemented with rbST are at an increased risk of developing clinical mastitis, which would potentially increase the use of antimicrobial agents and increase human illnesses associated with antimicrobial-resistant bacterial pathogens delivered…

Read More

What is the evidence that point sources of anthropogenic effluent increase antibiotic resistance in the environment? Protocol for a systematic review

July 18, 2016
Posted in ,

Herein we describe a protocol for a systematic review of the evidence on whether point sources of anthropogenic effluent are associated with an increase in antibiotic resistance in the adjacent environment. The review question was based on the Population, Exposure, Comparator, Outcome, Study Design (PECOS) framework as follows: Is the prevalence or concentration of antibiotic…

Read More

Antibiotics and antibiotic resistance in agroecosystems: State of the science

February 19, 2016
Posted in

We propose a simple causal model depicting relationships involved in dissemination of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance in agroecosystems and potential effects on human health, functioning of natural ecosystems, and agricultural productivity. Available evidence for each causal link is briefly summarized, and key knowledge gaps are highlighted. A lack of quantitative estimates of human exposure to…

Read More
thumbnail of Johnson-Plasmid-Fitness-AEM-2015

In vivo transmission of an IncA/C plasmid in Escherichia coli depends on tetracycline concentration, and acquisition of the plasmid results in a variable cost of fitness

September 17, 2015
Posted in

IncA/C plasmids are broad-host-range plasmids enabling multidrug resistance that have emerged worldwide among bacterial pathogens of humans and animals. Although antibiotic usage is suspected to be a driving force in the emergence of such strains, few studies have examined the impact of different types of antibiotic administration on the selection of plasmid-containing multidrug resistant isolates.…

Read More
thumbnail of Singer-ExPEC-Front-Micro-2015

Urinary tract infections attributed to diverse ExPEC strains in food animals: Evidence and data gaps

September 17, 2015
Posted in , ,

Between 70 and 95% of urinary tract infections (UTI) are caused by strains of Escherichia coli. These strains, often termed Extraintestinal Pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC), possess specific virulence traits allowing them to colonize more inhospitable environments, such as the urogenital tract. Some ExPEC isolates from humans have similar virulence factor profiles to ExPEC isolates from…

Read More

Publication Topics: