Elevated Risk of Carrying Gentamicin-Resistant Escherichia coli among U.S. Poultry Workers

Abstract

BackgroundAntimicrobial use in food-animal production is an issue of growing concern. The application of antimicrobials for therapy, prophylaxis, and growth promotion in broiler chicken production has been associated with the emergence and dissemination of antimicrobial-resistant enteric bacteria. Although human exposure to antimicrobial-resistant bacteria through food has been examined extensively, little attention has been paid to occupational and environmental pathways of exposure.ObjectiveOur objective was to measure the relative risk for colonization with antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli among poultry workers compared with community referents.MethodsWe collected stool samples and health surveys from 16 poultry workers and 33 community referents in the Delmarva region of Maryland and Virginia. E. coli was cultured from stool samples, and susceptibility to ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, gentamicin, nitrofurantoin, and tetracycline was determined for each E. coli isolate. We estimated the relative risk for carrying antimicrobial-resistant E. coli among poultry workers compared with community referents.ResultsPoultry workers had 32 times the odds of carrying gentamicin-resistant E. coli compared with community referents. The poultry workers were also at significantly increased risk of carrying multidrug-resistant E. coli.ConclusionsOccupational exposure to antimicrobial-resistant E. coli from live-animal contact in the broiler chicken industry may be an important route of entry for antimicrobial-resistant E. coli into the community.

Risk Factors for Antibiotic-Resistant Escherichia coli Carriage in Young Children in Peru: Community-Based Cross-Sectional Prevalence Study

“…Exposure to commercial-scale farm raised chickens 17 and consumption of retail meat 19 have been shown to increase individuals' risk for carriage of and infection by antibioticresistant E. coli , and the causal link between the carriage of resistant fecal flora in human populations and the use of antibiotics in farm animals has been amply demonstrated. 15,18,21 Conditions of poor sanitation are thought to play an important role in the widespread dissemination of resistant fecal bacteria in developing countries, 25,26 but the degree of risk in such settings caused by medical versus agricultural use of antibiotics is unclear.…”

“…15 Humans are exposed to animal microflora through meat consumption 16 and, in some settings, close contact. 17 The spread of resistance factors from animal to human flora, including interbacterial species transmission, has been documented or is highly suspected in E. coli , Camphylobacter spp., 15 Enterococcus spp., 18 and other bacteria. Exposure to drug resistant animal flora can lead to disease 19,20 and prevalent carriage of resistant bacteria in human populations.…”

Scientific Opinion on the public health risks of bacterial strains producing extended-spectrum β-lactamases and/or AmpC β-lactamases in food and food-producing animals

“…Such colonisation was initially reported for E. coli from poultry and humans (Levy et al, 1976a(Levy et al, , 1976b, and followed by many subsequent reports on E. coli (Ojeniyi, 1989;van den Bogaard et al, 2001) (Linton et al, 1977;Price et al, 2007). Transmission of CTX-M1 between pigs and pig farmers has also been reported (Moodley and Guardabassi, 2009).…”

A Survey of Antimicrobial Agents Usage in Poultry Farms and Antibiotic Resistance in Escherichia Coli and Staphylococci Isolates from the Poultry in Ile-Ife, Nigeria

“…Reports revealed widespread presence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens in poultry farms and products in many areas around the world [10][11][12][13]. Isolated pathogens include Staphylococcus aureus, Campylobacter, Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, and some other enterobacterias [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19].…”