Limited association between disinfectant use and either antibiotic or disinfectant susceptibility of Escherichia coli in both poultry and pig husbandry

Abstract

Background Farm disinfectants are widely used in primary production, but questions have been raised if their use can select for antimicrobial resistance. The present study examined the use of disinfectants in poultry and pig husbandry and its contribution to the antibiotic and disinfectant susceptibility of Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) strains obtained after cleaning and disinfection. On those field isolates antibiotic susceptibility was monitored and susceptibility to commonly used active components of farm disinfectants (i.e. glutaraldehyde, benzalkoniumchloride, formaldehyde, and a formulation of peracetic acid and hydrogen peroxide) was tested. Results This study showed a high resistance prevalence (> 50%) for ampicillin, sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim and tetracycline for both production animal categories, while for ciprofloxacin only a high resistance prevalence was found in broiler houses. Disinfectant susceptibility results were homogenously distributed within a very small concentration range. Furthermore, all E. coli strains were susceptible to in-use concentrations of formaldehyde, benzalkoniumchloride and a formulation of peracetic acid and hydrogen peroxide, indicating that the practical use of disinfectants did not select for disinfectant resistance. Moreover, the results showed no indications for the selection of antibiotic resistant bacteria through the use of disinfectants in agricultural environments. Conclusion Our study suggests that the proper use of disinfectants in agricultural environments does not promote antibiotic resistance nor reduce E. coli disinfectant susceptibility. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12917-019-2044-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Repeated disinfectant use in broiler houses and pig nursery units does not affect disinfectant and antibiotic susceptibility in Escherichia coli field isolates

“…The MIC values for the disinfectant components were homogenously distributed within a very small concentration range without a bimodal distribution. Furthermore, MIC values of the E. coli field isolates for the disinfectant components were similar to those recently reported by our research group [19]. The obtained MIC values of two active components i.e.…”

“…In our previous study [19] no difference was observed for the selected disinfectants between the MIC (minimal inhibitory concentration = minimal concentration that inhibits growth) and MBC (minimal bactericidal concentration = minimal concentration that results in~5 log CFU reduction). Therefore, in the current study only the MICs were determined.…”

“…Cleaning of all broiler houses and pig nursery units was carried out by high pressure cleaning with Kenosan ® and disinfection was applied by fogging at the broiler houses and by foaming at the pig nursery units. Selection of three commercially available disinfectants was based on frequently used combinations of active components in poultry houses and pig nursery units, described by Maertens et al (2018Maertens et al ( , 2019 [19,28]. Each disinfection product was applied during 5 successive production cycles in the same broiler house or pig nursery unit.…”

“…For each treatment, the product name, the amount of administration and the age (days) and weight (kg) of treated animals were recorded. Quantification of drug use was done as described in Maertens et al (2019) [19] by determining the treatment incidence (TI) defined as the number of treatment days per 100 days or the percentage of treatment days [29].…”

“…Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed on all E. coli broiler pilot farm isolates (n = 67) and experimental pig farm isolates (n = 183), using a microdilution method (Sensititre ® ) based on Maertens et al (2019) [19].…”