Antimicrobial Resistance in Bacterial Poultry Pathogens: A Review

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health threat, and antimicrobial usage and AMR in animal production is one of its contributing sources. Poultry is one of the most widespread types of meat consumed worldwide. Poultry flocks are often raised under intensive conditions using large amounts of antimicrobials to prevent and to treat disease, as well as for growth promotion. Antimicrobial resistant poultry pathogens may result in treatment failure, leading to economic losses, but also be a source of resistant bacteria/genes (including zoonotic bacteria) that may represent a risk to human health. Here we reviewed data on AMR in 12 poultry pathogens, including avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC), Salmonella Pullorum/Gallinarum, Pasteurella multocida, Avibacterium paragallinarum, Gallibacterium anatis, Ornitobacterium rhinotracheale (ORT), Bordetella avium, Clostridium perfringens, Mycoplasma spp., Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, and Riemerella anatipestifer. A number of studies have demonstrated increases in resistance over time for S. Pullorum/Gallinarum, M. gallisepticum, and G. anatis. Among Enterobacteriaceae, APEC isolates displayed considerably higher levels of AMR compared with S. Pullorum/Gallinarum, with prevalence of resistance over >80% for ampicillin, amoxicillin, tetracycline across studies. Among the Gram-negative, non-Enterobacteriaceae pathogens, ORT had the highest levels of phenotypic resistance with median levels of AMR against co-trimoxazole, enrofloxacin, gentamicin, amoxicillin, and ceftiofur all exceeding 50%. In contrast, levels of resistance among P. multocida isolates were less than 20% for all antimicrobials. The study highlights considerable disparities in methodologies, as well as in criteria for phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility testing and result interpretation. It is necessary to increase efforts to harmonize testing practices, and to promote free access to data on AMR in order to improve treatment guidelines as well as to monitor the evolution of AMR in poultry bacterial pathogens.

Dietary Supplementation With Bacillus subtilis Direct-Fed Microbials Alters Chicken Intestinal Metabolite Levels

“…Dietary antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) have been used in the food animal industry for more than 60 years to increase feed efficiency and improve growth performance (3,4). Increasing evidence, however, suggests that AGP use in food animal production leads to the development of antibiotic resistance among the endogenous gut commensal microbiota with the potential for transfer to the human population (5)(6)(7)(8)(9). Consequently, there is an unmet need to elucidate the molecular and cellular interactions between the intestinal microbiota and host that might be modulated by other means to promote food animal growth in the absence of AGPs.…”

Abstracts of the 9th Workshop Probiotics and Prebiotics

“…As noted above, the situation is similar in other species that are exploited in intensive regimes, including poultry farms [28], another sector very relevant to the Spanish economy. As for other species, such as rabbits, recent data suggest that epizootic enteropathy, a devastating intestinal disease that causes between 30 and 95% of mortality in the post-weaning period and whose aetiology is still unknown, could be related precisely with the anomalies in the intestinal populations generated by the continuous administration of antibiotics [29].…”

“…In 2002, a mixed working group of both institutions developed these guidelines, which included the requirements to be fulfilled to grant a product the probiotic consideration [27]. The concept of probiotic has been updated with the publication of consensus documents launched by the Spanish Society of Probiotics and Prebiotics (SEPyP) (http://www.sepyp.es) [28], the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) [24] and the World Gastroenterology Organization (WGO) http://www. 9th Workshop SEPyP worldgastroenterology.org/guidelines/global-guidelines/probiotics-and-prebiotics).…”

In Vitro Evaluation of Antibacterial Activity of Garlic Allium Sativum Against Poultry Pathogens and Effect of Garlic Supplementation on Duckling Growth Performance

“…Nowadays, antibiotics are used to prevent and treat bacterial infections in poultry industry. However, the overuse of antibiotic in livestock and poultry production has led to the antimicrobial resistance which is one of the most serious threats to global health [2]. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Viet Nam is planning to impose a ban on all kinds of antibiotics in animal feed by 2020.…”