Antimicrobial resistance of emerging foodborne pathogens: Status quo and global trends

Abstract

Emerging foodborne pathogens are challenging subjects of food microbiology with their antibiotic resistance and their impact on public health. Campylobacter jejuni, Salmonella spp. and Verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) are significant emerging food pathogens, globally. The decrease in supply and increase in demand lead developed countries to produce animal products with a higher efficiency. The massive production has caused the increase of the significant foodborne diseases. The strict control of food starting from farm to fork has been held by different regulations. Official measures have been applied to combat these pathogens. In 2005 EU declared that, an EU-wide ban on the use of antibiotics as growth promoters in animal feed would be applied on 1 January 2006. The ban is the final step in the phasing out of antibiotics used for non-medical purposes. It is a part of the Commission's strategy to tackle the emergence of bacteria and other microbes resistant to antibiotics, due to their overexploitation or misuse. As the awareness raises more countries banned application of antibiotics as growth promoter, but the resistance of the emerging foodborne pathogens do not represent decrease. Currently, the main concern of food safety is counter measures against resistant bugs.

Importance and implications of antibiotic resistance development in livestock and wildlife farming in South Africa: A Review

“…To keep up with the enormous scale of global food production and limited resources, food producers have applied new technologies and alternative production methods to industrialize and optimize food production (Koluman & Dikici, 2013). An example involves the use of antibiotics as feed additives to enhance the growth of animals, which are known as growth promoters (Koluman & Dikici, 2013).…”

“…An example involves the use of antibiotics as feed additives to enhance the growth of animals, which are known as growth promoters (Koluman & Dikici, 2013). The mechanisms of growth promoters are still largely unknown, but it has been hypothesized that they work by altering microintestinal flora, which results in more efficient digestion and metabolism, as well as disease and pathogen suppression (Phillips et al, 2004).…”

Fingerprinting microbiomes towards screening for microbial antibiotic resistance

“…Since Sir Alexander Fleming identified penicillin in 1928, the environment has become the primary receiver for most applied antibiotics and their residues via excretion of human and animals [12][13][14][15][16][17][18] . Currently, antibiotics are ranked as the third most commonly prescribed class of agents, and frequently used in human medicine, agriculture, aquaculture and the agri-food industry, resulting in an enormous amounts of antimicrobial usage 19 .…”

“…With such growing concerns, ARGs and their relevant mechanisms have been identified in clinical and environmental contexts [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][24][25][26][27] . Many approaches have been applied to investigate their existence and spread as well as their dynamics within natural microbiota.…”

Sonodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy: First steps towards a sound approach for microbe inactivation

“…1 The scientific community devoted great efforts to provide alternative solutions not only to eradicate infections in the medical and veterinary setting, but also to reduce bacterial load in the context of environmental and industrial applications, since agricultural/environmental use of antibiotics plays a pivotal role in the spreading of resistance, through food-borne microorganisms 2 and wastewater. [3][4][5] In the quest for alternative approaches to microbial inactivation, physical methods (e.g., irradiation, heat, high pressure, etc.) gained popularity because they typically have less potential to induce resistance, and are amenable to application on large scale.…”