Dataset Information

Risk factors for persistence of livestock-associated MRSA and environmental exposure in veal calf farmers and their family members: an observational longitudinal study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) emergence is a major public health concern. This study was aimed at assessing risk factors for persistently carrying MRSA in veal calf farmers and their family members. We also evaluate the dynamics of MRSA environmental load during the veal-calf production cycle.

Design

Observational, longitudinal, repeated cross-sectional study.

Setting

52 veal calf farms in the Netherlands.

Participants

From the end of 2010 to the end of 2011, a total of 211 farmers, family members and employees were included in the study.

Primary outcome and secondary outcome measures

Nasal swabs were taken from participants on days 0, 4, 7 and week 12. A persistent MRSA carrier was defined as a person positive for MRSA on days 0, 4 and 7. Participants filled in an extensive questionnaire to identify potential risk factors and confounders. For estimation of MRSA prevalence in calves and environmental contamination, animal nasal swabs and Electrostatic Dust Collectors were taken on day 0 and week 12.

Results

The presence of potential animal reservoirs (free-ranging farm cats and sheep) and the level of contact with veal calves was positively associated with persistent MRSA carriage. Interestingly, at the end of the study (week 12), there was a twofold rise in animal prevalence and a significantly higher MRSA environmental load in the stables was found on farms with MRSA carriers.

Conclusions

This study supports the hypothesis that environmental contamination with MRSA plays a role in the acquisition of MRSA in farmers and their household members and suggests that other animal species should also be targeted to implement effective control strategies.

SUBMITTER: Dorado-Garcia A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3780428 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Risk factors for persistence of livestock-associated MRSA and environmental exposure in veal calf farmers and their family members: an observational longitudinal study.

Dorado-García Alejandro A Bos Marian Eh ME Graveland Haitske H Van Cleef Brigitte Agl BA Verstappen Koen M KM Kluytmans Jan Ajw JA Wagenaar Jaap A JA Heederik Dick Jj DJ

BMJ open 20130919 9

<h4>Objectives</h4>Livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) emergence is a major public health concern. This study was aimed at assessing risk factors for persistently carrying MRSA in veal calf farmers and their family members. We also evaluate the dynamics of MRSA environmental load during the veal-calf production cycle.<h4>Design</h4>Observational, longitudinal, repeated cross-sectional study.<h4>Setting</h4>52 veal calf farms in the Netherlands.<h4>Participa ...[more]

PMID: 24056480

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Antibiotic therapy is commonly used in animal agriculture. Antibiotics excreted by the animals can contaminate farming environments, resulting in long term exposure of animals to sub-inhibitory levels of antibiotics. Little is known on the effect of this exposure on antibiotic resistance. In this study, we aimed to investigate the long term effects of sub-inhibitory levels of antibiotics on the gut microbiota composition and resistome of veal calves in vivo. Forty-two veal calves were randomly assigned to three groups. The first group (OTC-high) received therapeutic oral dosages of 1?g oxytetracycline (OTC), twice per day, during 5 days. The second group (OTC-low) received an oral dose of OTC of 100-200??g per day during 7 weeks, mimicking animal exposure to environmental contamination. The third group (CTR) did not receive OTC, serving as unexposed control. Antibiotic residue levels were determined over time. The temporal effects on the gut microbiota and antibiotic resistance gene abundance was analysed by metagenomic sequencing. RESULTS:In the therapeutic group, OTC levels exceeded MIC values. The low group remained at sub-inhibitory levels. The control group did not reach any significant OTC levels. 16S rRNA gene-based analysis revealed significant changes in the calf gut microbiota. Time-related changes accounted for most of the variation in the sequence data. Therapeutic application of OTC had transient effect, significantly impacting gut microbiota composition between day 0 and day 2. By metagenomic sequence analysis we identified six antibiotic resistance genes representing three gene classes (tetM, floR and mel) that differed in relative abundance between any of the intervention groups and the control. qPCR was used to validate observations made by metagenomic sequencing, revealing a peak of tetM abundance at day 28-35 in the OTC-high group. No increase in resistance genes abundance was seen in the OTC-low group. CONCLUSIONS:Under the conditions tested, sub-therapeutic administration of OTC did not result in increased tetM resistance levels as observed in the therapeutic group.

Project description:The shift from cure toward prevention in veterinary medicine involves the implementation of biosecurity. In cattle farming, the application of biosecurity measures has been described to a limited degree, yet no data on biosecurity on veal farms is available. A high degree of commingling of veal calves from multiple farms causes frequent disease outbreaks, and thereby high antimicrobial usage and increased risk of antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, this study aimed to describe the current implementation of biosecurity on veal farms in Belgium. To this extent, a list of the most important calf diseases (n?=?34) was created, and risk factors and related biosecurity measures for these diseases were determined and included in a questionnaire. Herd visits and face-to-face interviews were conducted on 20 randomly selected veal farms, comprising 8.3% of the target population. A categorical principal component and clustering analysis were performed to determine the influence of the veal companies on the farms' biosecurity level. Awareness of biosecurity was very low among the farmers. All farms used an "all-in, all-out" production system with calves originating from multiple farms without quarantine. On average, farms were filled in 11.4 days (range 2-52). The degree of commingling for these farms was 1.24, meaning that, on average, 124 calves originated from 100 farms. Veterinarians wore farm-specific boots on eight farms (40%) and farm-specific clothes on six farms (30%), while technical advisors wore farm-specific boots on six farms (30%) and farm-specific clothes on four farms (20%). Disinfection footbaths were only used in five farms (25%) despite being present in all farms in the sample. Concerning internal biosecurity, none of the farmers isolated sick animals; only one farmer (5%) had a physically separated hospital pen, and only 11 farmers (55%) both cleaned and disinfected the stables after each production cycle. In most farms, animals were of comparable age. Healthy calves generally remained in the same compartment during the entire production cycle, limiting the risks associated with the movement of animals. No influence of the integrations on the biosecurity level could be determined. It can be concluded that a few biosecurity measures, such as "'all-in, all-out" and compartmentation, are implemented relatively well, while other measures, such as good cleaning and disinfection and proper entrance measures for visitors and personnel can easily be improved. The improvement of measures regarding the introduction of animals of different origins will require more fundamental changes in the veal industry.

Dataset Information

Risk factors for persistence of livestock-associated MRSA and environmental exposure in veal calf farmers and their family members: an observational longitudinal study.

Objectives

Design

Setting

Participants

Primary outcome and secondary outcome measures

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Risk factors for persistence of livestock-associated MRSA and environmental exposure in veal calf farmers and their family members: an observational longitudinal study.

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