Drug-Resistant Bacteria in Healthy Animals
Author Information
Author(s): Perron Gabriel G., Quessy Sylvain, Bell Graham
Primary Institution: McGill University
Hypothesis
What is the genetic diversity and abundance of Salmonella enterica in asymptomatic animal hosts?
Conclusion
Asymptomatic pigs frequently carry diverse populations of drug-resistant Salmonella enterica, posing a significant risk to food safety.
Supporting Evidence
- 6% of sampled asymptomatic pigs carried Salmonella enterica.
- Resistance to antibiotics varied widely, with up to 65% resistance to tetracycline.
- 90% of Typhimurium DT104 isolates were resistant to two or more antibiotics.
- 20 genotypes of Salmonella were identified, indicating significant genetic diversity.
- Most strains were resistant to several antibiotics, posing a risk to treatment efficacy.
Takeaway
Some pigs that look healthy can still carry germs that make people sick, and these germs can be really hard to treat with medicine.
Methodology
The study involved isolating Salmonella strains from the lymph nodes of 7,441 asymptomatic pigs across five Canadian provinces.
Potential Biases
Potential bias in sampling as isolates were discarded from farms with known infections.
Limitations
The study focused only on asymptomatic pigs and did not include those with a history of clinical Salmonella infection.
Participant Demographics
Asymptomatic pigs from livestock productions in five Canadian provinces.
Statistical Information
P-Value
<0.0001
Statistical Significance
p<0.0001
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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