Antimicrobial Resistance in Veterinary Medicine: An Overview

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents one of the most important human- and animal health-threatening issues worldwide. Bacterial capability to face antimicrobial compounds is an ancient feature, enabling bacterial survival over time and the dynamic surrounding. Moreover, bacteria make use of their evolutionary machinery to adapt to the selective pressure exerted by antibiotic treatments, resulting in reduced efficacy of the therapeutic intervention against human and animal infections. The mechanisms responsible for both innate and acquired AMR are thoroughly investigated. Commonly, AMR traits are included in mobilizable genetic elements enabling the homogeneous diffusion of the AMR traits pool between the ecosystems of diverse sectors, such as human medicine, veterinary medicine, and the environment. Thus, a coordinated multisectoral approach, such as One-Health, provides a detailed comprehensive picture of the AMR onset and diffusion. Following a general revision of the molecular mechanisms responsible for both innate and acquired AMR, the present manuscript focuses on reviewing the contribution of veterinary medicine to the overall issue of AMR. The main sources of AMR amenable to veterinary medicine are described, driving the attention towards the indissoluble cross-talk existing between the diverse ecosystems and sectors and their cumulative cooperation to this warning phenomenon.

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“…4,5 Clearly, the application of antimicrobials in food-producing animals, either for prophylactic and/or treatment purposes, generates a considerable selection pressure that contributes to the emergence, persistence, and transmission of antimicrobial resistance over the food supply. 6,7 The food of animal origin could be contaminated with various zoonotic pathogens that might result from inappropriate production, processing methods in animal farms and/processing feed lines, which in turn results in transmission of these pathogens to the consumers. [8][9][10] Among other diseases, mastitis is a multifactorial disease affecting milk production and quality in dairy farms.…”

Antimicrobial use in wean to market pigs in the United States assessed via voluntary sharing of proprietary data

“…Certainly, in some settings, emerging resistance is a concern for particular animal diseases and pathogens (Coetzee et al., 2019; Hampson et al., 2019; Loeffler & Lloyd, 2018), but to date falls far short of a crisis. It is typical that reviews of antimicrobial use and resistance in veterinary medicine and ‘One Health’ perspectives include little or no discussion of resistance as a clinical problem impacting animal health (McEwen & Collignon, 2018; Palma et al, 2020). The impetus for greater regulatory restrictions on antimicrobial use and for better antimicrobial stewardship in veterinary medicine is driven overwhelmingly by potential implications for public health.…”

New Determinants of Aminoglycoside Resistance and Their Association with the Class 1 Integron Gene Cassettes in Trueperella pyogenes

“…Integrons containing gene cassettes may be located in chromosomes or in mobile genetic elements, such as plasmids and transposons. Therefore, integrons play an important role in distribution of antimicrobial resistance genes among bacteria often belonging to different genera and species [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. The role of integrons in the spread of antimicrobial resistance genes is especially well described in Gram-negative bacteria [ 22 ].…”