Prevalence of resistant E. coli and their transmission among dairy cattle in Swiss tie stalls
Abstract
Dairy cattle are the production branch of Swiss animal husbandry where most antimicrobials are administered. This study was conducted to a) describe the prevalence of rectal E. coli resistant to antimicrobials and b) to investigate whether there are indications for transmission of resistant E. coli among tie-stalled dairy cattle that are tied next to each other. During farm visits, triplets of cows were swab sampled to isolate E. coli from the rectal mucosa and perform susceptibility testing using microdilution. Triplets included treated and untreated cows: cow A: treated parenterally with antimicrobials within 3-7 days prior to sampling; cow B: untreated neighbouring cow of cow A; cow C: untreated cow not neighbouring cow A or B. A total of 281 farms were visited. Prevalence of resistant E. coli was moderate to low in untreated and moderate in treated cows. Overall, resistance was exhibited most frequently to sulfamethoxazole (31.8%), tetracycline (8.5%) and ampicillin (6.3%). Being cow B, i.e. being exposed to treated cow A was not associated with higher prevalence of resistant E. coli in comparison to cow C. In our study population, there is no indication that parenteral antimicrobial treatment in tied dairy cows increases the risk of carrying resistant E. coli for cows tied at the neighbouring stand. For practitioners, separation of cows that undergo treatment may not be necessary to avoid spread of resistant bacteria and therefore to comply with the standards of prudent use of antimicrobials.
Date Issued
2023
Publication Type
Conference Item
Subject(s)
Language(s)
en
Additional Credits
Title of Event
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