Misuse of Antibiotics and the Dissemination of Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria in the Community

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-106
Author(s):  
Cassandra Sturgeon Delia
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Setting ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Medical Professional ◽  
Farm Animals ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Bacterial Strains ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Behavioural Factors

A crucial issue that threatens humanity worldwide, is the misuse of antibiotics (Marquard & Li, 2018). However, the terms misuse and overuse of antibiotics are widely misunderstood, as many assume that antibiotics are only acquired directly through a prescription by a medical professional. The reality of the situation is much more complex, and many do not realise the indirect intake through ingestion with food (Philips et al., 2003) and recreational actions (Schwartz et al., 2003). Moreover, such information is kept out of the limelight, keeping the community unaware of this pressing issue. Antibiotic resistance is escalating globally as social behaviour is leading to selective pressure creating resistant strains of bacteria through excessive exploitation of antibiotics (Okeke & Edelman, 1999). This article aims to address the mechanisms of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the link to healthy individuals’ gut flora, creating asymptomatic carriers within the community. Since many students at MCAST are undertaking courses that may aid in the transportation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, such as animal husbandry, they need to be aware of bacterial strains found in farm animals, which pose a potential risk to humans via the food chain. Students undergoing courses that lead to health-related work, seeking future employment in a clinical setting, also need to be aware of the threat antibiotic-resistant pathogens pose to humans advancing from a clinical setting to the community. Persons working within such industries need to understand both how pathogens gain resistance, and how they spread, to apprehend methods of avoiding transmission. This study endeavours to increase local awareness within the community, and avoid this socioeconomic threat, by addressing behavioural factors.

scholarly journals Multiresistant Bacteria Isolated from Intestinal Faeces of Farm Animals in Austria

Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 466
Author(s):  
Herbert Galler ◽  
Josefa Luxner ◽  
Christian Petternel ◽  
Franz F. Reinthaler ◽  
Juliana Habib ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Meat Products ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
Farm Animals ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Multiresistant Bacteria ◽  
Vancomycin Resistant

In recent years, antibiotic-resistant bacteria with an impact on human health, such as extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-containing Enterobacteriaceae, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE), have become more common in food. This is due to the use of antibiotics in animal husbandry, which leads to the promotion of antibiotic resistance and thus also makes food a source of such resistant bacteria. Most studies dealing with this issue usually focus on the animals or processed food products to examine the antibiotic resistant bacteria. This study investigated the intestine as another main habitat besides the skin for multiresistant bacteria. For this purpose, faeces samples were taken directly from the intestines of swine (n = 71) and broiler (n = 100) during the slaughter process and analysed. All samples were from animals fed in Austria and slaughtered in Austrian slaughterhouses for food production. The samples were examined for the presence of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae, MRSA, MRCoNS and VRE. The resistance genes of the isolated bacteria were detected and sequenced by PCR. Phenotypic ESBL-producing Escherichia coli could be isolated in 10% of broiler casings (10 out of 100) and 43.6% of swine casings (31 out of 71). In line with previous studies, the results of this study showed that CTX-M-1 was the dominant ESBL produced by E. coli from swine (n = 25, 83.3%) and SHV-12 from broilers (n = 13, 81.3%). Overall, the frequency of positive samples with multidrug-resistant bacteria was lower than in most comparable studies focusing on meat products.

scholarly journals Effect of Sunlight on the Efficacy of Commercial Antibiotics Used in Agriculture

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian J. Khan ◽  
Amanda M. Osborn ◽  
Prahathees J. Eswara
Keyword(s):  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Citrus Greening ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Disc Diffusion ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Citrus Greening Disease ◽  
Greening Disease ◽  
Diffusion Assay

Antibiotic stewardship is of paramount importance to limit the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in not only hospital settings, but also in animal husbandry, aquaculture, and agricultural sectors. Currently, large quantities of antibiotics are applied to treat agricultural diseases like citrus greening disease (CGD). The two commonly used antibiotics approved for this purpose are streptomycin and oxytetracycline. Although investigations are ongoing to understand how efficient this process is to control the spread of CGD, to our knowledge, there have been no studies that evaluate the effect of environmental factors such as sunlight on the efficacy of the above-mentioned antibiotics. We conducted a simple disc-diffusion assay to study the efficacy of streptomycin and oxytetracycline after exposure to sunlight for 7- or 14-day periods using Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis as the representative strains of Gram-negative and Gram-positive organisms, respectively. Freshly prepared discs and discs stored in the dark for 7 or 14 days served as our controls. We show that the antibiotic potential of oxytetracycline exposed to sunlight dramatically decreases over the course of 14 days against both E. coli and B. subtilis. However, the effectiveness of streptomycin was only moderately impacted by sunlight. It is important to note that antibiotics that last longer in the environment may play a deleterious role in the rise and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Further studies are needed to substantively analyze the safety and efficacy of antibiotics used for broader environmental applications.

scholarly journals Effect of sunlight on the efficacy of commercial antibiotics used in agriculture

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Khan ◽  
Amanda Osborn ◽  
Prahathees J. Eswara
Keyword(s):  
Plant Pathogens ◽  
Selective Pressure ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Citrus Greening Disease ◽  
Mode Of Application ◽  
Diffusion Assay

ABSTRACTAntibiotic stewardship is of paramount importance to limit the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in not only hospital settings, but also in animal husbandry, aquaculture, and agricultural sectors. Currently, large quantities of antibiotics are applied to treat agricultural diseases like citrus greening disease (CGD). The two commonly used antibiotics approved for this purpose are streptomycin and oxytetracycline. Although investigations are ongoing to understand how efficient this process is to control the spread of CGD, to our knowledge, there have been no studies that evaluate the effect of environmental factors such as sunlight on the efficacy of the above-mentioned antibiotics. We conducted a simple disc-diffusion assay to study the efficacy of streptomycin and oxytetracycline after exposure to sunlight for 7- or 14-day periods using Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis as the representative strains of Gram-negative and Gram-positive organisms respectively. Freshly prepared discs and discs stored in the dark for 7 or 14 days served as our controls. We show that the antibiotic potential of oxytetracycline exposed to sunlight dramatically decreases over the course of 14 days against both E. coli and B. subtilis. However, the effectiveness of streptomycin was only moderately impacted by sunlight. It is important to note that antibiotics that last longer in the environment may play a deleterious role in the rise and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Further studies are needed to substantively analyze the safety and efficacy of antibiotics used for broader environmental applications.IMPORTANCEAlthough antibiotics have been used for agricultural purposes for decades, due to the rapid rise in antibiotic resistance this usage needs to be revisited. Questions remain on the appropriate mode of application of antibiotics and the actual benefits of using antibiotics for treating the infections caused by plant pathogens, especially for the ones that are intracellular in nature. Here we show that the two commonly used commercial antibiotics, oxytetracycline and streptomycin, lose their efficacy at different rates in the presence of sunlight. While the former loses its potency within days the latter remains active for many days. Thus, oxytetracycline may not be active long enough to produce desired effect and streptomycin may persist in the environment and as a side effect due to its selective pressure, may force the rise of streptomycin-resistant pathogens.

scholarly journals Identification of multi-antibiotic resistant bacteria isolated from Vietnamese climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) on fish farms in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

2021 ◽  
Vol 947 (1) ◽  
pp. 012036
Author(s):  
Thanh Luan Nguyen ◽  
Kien Cuong Tran ◽  
Thu Nha Nguyen Thi ◽  
Lan Phan-Hoang Nguyen ◽  
Nga Tran Thi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Ho Chi Minh City ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Bacterial Strains ◽  
Fish Farms ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Anabas Testudineus ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
Climbing Perch ◽  
Or Genes

Abstract Climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) is considered a cultured species with high economic value and is widely distributed in several Asian countries, including Vietnam. In climbing perch aquaculture, antibiotic and antibacterial agents have been overused, leading to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria or genes in the aquatic environment as well as in the seafood products. These antibiotic-resistant bacteria and/or genes can then be spread to human through the food chain, generating detrimental consequences for public health and environment. In this study, 14 bacterial strains were isolated from Vietnamese climbing perch collected from various fish farms in Ho Chi Minh City which possess abnormal symptoms on the outside and in their organs. These bacterial strains were then subjected to several biochemical tests to characterize their colony morphologies. Besides, gene sequencing was performed and as compared to the 16S rRNA, 4 bacterial strains were identified with a high percentage in similarity, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa (99.7%), Aeromonas caviae (99.93%), Kosakonia sacchari (100%), and Edwardsiella ictaluri (99.44%). Additionally, these bacteria showed high levels of antibiotic resistance against beta-lactam, tetracycline, and others. Taken together, these results showed that the four identified bacterial strains isolated from Vietnamese climbing perch circulated in fish farms in Ho Chi Minh City. Their current status of multi-antibiotic resistance indicates further alternative sources of antimicrobial agents, for example, natural compounds, to overcome antibiotic resistance. It is then crucial to identify fish diseases, the associated pathogens, and the new alternatives for antibiotics to protect aquatic ecosystems and water resources.

scholarly journals Prevalence of Diversified Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria within Sanitation Related Facilities of Human Populated Workplaces in Abbottabad

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jawad Ali ◽  
Malik Owais Ullah Awan ◽  
Gulcin Akca ◽  
Iftikhar Zeb ◽  
Bilal AZ Amin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Bacterial Resistance ◽  
Bacterial Species ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Beta Lactam ◽  
Bacterial Strains ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Sensitivity Testing ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant

AbstractAntibiotics discovery was a significant breakthrough in the field of therapeutic medicines, but the over (mis)use of such antibiotics (n parallel) caused the increasing number of resistant bacterial species at an ever-higher rate. This study was thus devised to assess the multi-drug resistant bacteria present in sanitation-related facilities in human workplaces. In this regard, samples were collected from different gender, location, and source-based facilities, and subsequent antibiotic sensitivity testing was performed on isolated bacterial strains. Four classes of the most commonly used antibiotics i.e., β-lactam, Aminoglycosides, Macrolides, and Sulphonamides, were evaluated against the isolated bacteria.The antibiotic resistance profile of different (70) bacterial strains showed that the antibiotic resistance-based clusters also followed the grouping based on their isolation sources, mainly the gender. Twenty-three bacterial strains were further selected for their 16s rRNA gene based molecular identification and for phylogenetic analysis to evaluate the taxonomic evolution of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Moreover, the bacterial resistance to Sulphonamides and beta lactam was observed to be the most and to Aminoglycosides and macrolides as the least. Plasmid curing was also performed for MDR bacterial strains, which significantly abolished the resistance potential of bacterial strains for different antibiotics. These curing results suggested that the antibiotic resistance determinants in these purified bacterial strains are present on respective plasmids. Altogether, the data suggested that the human workplaces are the hotspot for the prevalence of MDR bacteria and thus may serve the source of horizontal gene transfer and further transmission to other environments.

scholarly journals Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria in the Environment as Bio-Indicators of Pollution

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 342-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
James R. Paulson ◽  
Ibrahim Y. Mahmoud ◽  
Salma K. Al-Musharafi ◽  
Saif N. Al-Bahry
Keyword(s):  
Sea Water ◽  
Growth Promotion ◽  
Genetic Material ◽  
Agricultural Runoff ◽  
Farm Animals ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
Breeding Grounds ◽  
Coastal Sea

Antibiotic resistant and multiple-antibiotic resistant bacteria (MARB) have become increasingly widespread, primarily due to overuse of antibiotics in clinical therapeutics and in growth promotion for livestock. This undermines the usefulness of the drugs and presents a serious problem for human health. Compounding the problem, resistance determinants can spread between different bacteria via transfer of genetic material, so that the digestive tracts of farm animals, for example, have become breeding grounds for MARB. Antibiotics and resistant bacteria enter the environment in both treated and untreated sewage, via wastewater streams from hospitals and pharmaceutical plants, and through agricultural runoff from feedlots and fields fertilized with manure. This has led to contamination of groundwater, lakes, rivers and coastal sea water, and high levels of MARB in wildlife which indicates pollution of these habitats. Here we propose that the level of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in wildlife, for example sea turtles and fish, could be used as a bioindicator to monitor pollution and to evaluate the success of efforts to curtail it.

scholarly journals The Role of Bacterial Membrane Vesicles in the Dissemination of Antibiotic Resistance and as Promising Carriers for Therapeutic Agent Delivery

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 670 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Jalal Uddin ◽  
Jirapat Dawan ◽  
Gibeom Jeon ◽  
Tao Yu ◽  
Xinlong He ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Vaccine Development ◽  
Cell Envelope ◽  
Membrane Vesicles ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Bacterial Membrane ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant

The rapid emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria continues to be an issue difficult to deal with, especially in the clinical, animal husbandry, and food fields. The occurrence of multidrug-resistant bacteria renders treatment with antibiotics ineffective. Therefore, the development of new therapeutic methods is a worthwhile research endeavor in treating infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Recently, bacterial membrane vesicles (BMVs) have been investigated as a possible approach to drug delivery and vaccine development. The BMVs are released by both pathogenic and non-pathogenic Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, containing various components originating from the cytoplasm and the cell envelope. The BMVs are able to transform bacteria with genes that encode enzymes such as proteases, glycosidases, and peptidases, resulting in the enhanced antibiotic resistance in bacteria. The BMVs can increase the resistance of bacteria to antibiotics. However, the biogenesis and functions of BMVs are not fully understood in association with the bacterial pathogenesis. Therefore, this review aims to discuss BMV-associated antibiotic resistance and BMV-based therapeutic interventions.

scholarly journals Prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes in faecal samples from cattle, pigs and poultry

2013 ◽  
Vol 58 (No. 6) ◽  
pp. 298-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Faldynova ◽  
P. Videnska ◽  
H. Havlickova ◽  
F. Sisak ◽  
H. Juricova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Resistance Genes ◽  
Laying Hens ◽  
Antibiotic Resistance Genes ◽  
Farm Animals ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
Absolute Increase ◽  
Faecal Samples

Antibiotic resistant bacteria can be easily isolated from the faeces of cattle, pigs or poultry. However, whether the production of different farm animals is associated with a higher or lower prevalence of antibiotic resistance is not clear. In this study we therefore used real time PCR for the quantification of antibiotic gene prevalence in the DNA purified from the faeces of farm animals. First we showed that experimental streptomycin therapy of 12-week-old chickens and 46-week-old hens significantly increased the relative prevalence of strA and sul2 genes though this did not necessarily indicate an absolute increase of strA-encoding bacteria. Next we quantified antibiotic gene prevalence in the DNA purified from the faeces of cattle, pigs and laying hens. The lowest prevalence of strA, aadA, sul1, sul2, tet(A), tet(B), tet(G) and cat genes was recorded in the intestinal contents of laying hens. In cattle and pig faecal samples, an intermediate prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes was observed with strA and sul2 dominating by two logs over the remaining six tested genes. The differences in strA and sul2 prevalence between cattle and pig microbiota were not significant whilst the prevalence of strA and sul2 in laying hen microbiota was significantly lower than in the other two species. Cattle and pig production systems may therefore represent a more important reservoir of antibiotic resistant bacteria than laying hens.  

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