Hazardous practices regarding antibiotics misuse, unsanitary milking procedures, and the commercial sales of raw milk and unpasteurized dairy products are currently being practiced by livestock farmers in the Sumapaz region (Colombia). The purpose of this study was to screen for food-borne and zoonotic pathogens associated with local livestock practices. We evaluated 1098 cows from 46 livestock farms in the Sumapaz region that were selected by random. Of the total population of cattle, 962 animals (88%) were tested for bovine TB using a caudal-fold tuberculin test and 546 (50%) for brucellosis by a competitive ELISA. In the population tested, 23 cows were positive for Brucella sp. representing a 4.2% seroprevalence and no cases of bovine tuberculosis were found. In addition, food-borne contamination with Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus was assessed together with antibiotic susceptibility for ten different antibiotics in milk samples from 16 livestock farms. We found that 12 of the farms (75%) were contaminated with these food-borne pathogens. Noteworthy, all of the isolated pathogenic strains were resistant to multiple antibiotics, primarily to oxytetracycline and erythromycin. Our findings suggest that livestock products could be a source of exposure to Brucella and multidrug-resistant E. coli and S. aureus strains as a result of unhygienic livestock practices in the Sumapaz region. Training in good farming practices is the key to improving safety in food production.

Objetivo: evaluar la calidad de agua en pequeñas y medianas unidades de producción ganaderas de la región de Sumapaz (Cundinamarca, Colombia). Materiales y métodos: el muestreo se realizó colectando 50 mL de agua en bolsas estériles, para la determinación de contaminación microbiológica incluyendo presencia de aerobios mesófilos, coliformes totales, Escherichia coli y Pseudomonas sp. de acuerdo con los parámetros permisibles de potabilidad definidos en el decreto 1575 de 2007 del Ministerio de la Protección Social de la República de Colombia. Resultados: se evidenció contaminación microbiana en 16 (66,7%) de los 24 predios evaluados de acuerdo con la normatividad descrita. También, se detectó la presencia de aerobios mesófilos, coliformes totales, Escherichia coli y Pseudomonas sp. en al menos el 25% de los predios evaluados. Conclusiones: los hallazgos sugieren que el agua podría representar una fuente de contaminación microbiológica directa para la salud humana, producción pecuaria y a la vez afectar la cadena de comercialización de productos lácteos y cárnicos en la provincia del Sumapaz.

No abstract