Longitudinal analysis of differences and similarities in antimicrobial resistance among commensal Escherichia coli isolated from market swine and sows at slaughter in the United States of America, 2013-2019

Int J Food Microbiol. 2023 Dec 16:407:110388. doi: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2023.110388. Epub 2023 Sep 7.

Abstract

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance in swine enteric bacteria poses a significant public health challenge. Our study evaluated publicly available data collected by the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System for Enteric Bacteria (NARMS) between 2013 and 2019 at slaughter plants across the United States of America, focusing on commensal E. coli isolated from swine cecal contents originating from two distinct swine production systems: market hogs (n = 2090) and sows (n = 1147). In both production types, the highest pairwise correlations were detected among β-lactam antimicrobials, including resistance to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, ceftriaxone, and cefoxitin, suggesting a co-selection for resistance. Compared to 2013, an increase in the rate of E. coli isolates that were resistant to β-lactam antimicrobials was higher in 2017, 2018, and 2019, and this increase was more pronounced in isolates obtained from market hogs. Differences in antimicrobial resistance between these two distinct swine production systems warrant production-type focused mitigation efforts.

Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance; Cecal samples; Market hog; Multidrug resistance; Pigs; Slaughter; Sow; Surveillance; United States of America.

MeSH terms

  • Amoxicillin-Potassium Clavulanate Combination
  • Animals
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use
  • Anti-Infective Agents*
  • Drug Resistance, Bacterial
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial
  • Enterobacteriaceae
  • Escherichia coli
  • Escherichia coli Infections* / epidemiology
  • Escherichia coli Infections* / veterinary
  • Female
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Swine
  • United States

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Anti-Infective Agents
  • Amoxicillin-Potassium Clavulanate Combination