Spatial Clustering of Escherichia coli with Reduced Susceptibility to Cefotaxime and Ciprofloxacin among Dairy Cattle Farms Relative to European Starling Night Roosts

Abstract

European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) have been implicated in the dispersal of zoonotic enteric pathogens. However, their role in disseminating antimicrobial-resistant organisms through their home range has not been clearly established. The aim of this study was to determine whether starling night roosts served as foci for spreading organisms with reduced susceptibility to antimicrobials among dairy cattle farms. Bovine faecal pats were collected from 150 dairy farms in Ohio. Each farm was visited twice (in summer and fall) between 2007 and 2009. A total of 1490 samples (10 samples/farm over two visits) were tested for Escherichia coli with reduced susceptibility to cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin. Using a spatial scan statistic, focal scans were conducted to determine whether clusters of farms with a high prevalence of organisms with reduced susceptibility to cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin surrounded starling night roosts. Faecal pats 13.42% and 13.56% of samples carried Escherichia coli with reduced susceptibility to cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin, respectively. Statistically significant (P < 0.05) spatial clusters of faecal pats with high prevalence of Escherichia coli showing reduced susceptibility to cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin were identified around these night roosts. This finding suggests that the risk of carriage of organisms with reduced susceptibility to antimicrobials in cattle closer to starling night roosts was higher compared to cattle located on farms further from these sites. Starlings might have an important role in spreading antimicrobial-resistant E. coli to livestock environments, thus posing a threat to animal and public health.

On-farm starling populations and other environmental and management factors associated with the presence of cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin resistant E. coli among dairy cattle in Ohio

“…Distance between farm and the closest night roost site was significantly associated with the presence of cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin resistant E. coli in the multivariable models. This finding is consistent with a previous analysis based on E. coli O157:H7 (Swirski et al, 2014), and is supported by our previous finding of significant spatial clusters of bovine fecal pats with a high prevalence of cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin resistant E. coli around these same night roost sites (Medhanie et al, 2016). Even after adjusting for on-farm starling density in the spatial analysis, there were statistically significant clusters of cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin resistant E. coli around these night roosts, suggesting that the clusters of antimicrobial resistant isolates do not depend on the specific density of starlings during the day, but possibly the movement of starlings on farms during travel to and from night roosts (Medhanie et al, 2016).…”

“…This finding is consistent with a previous analysis based on E. coli O157:H7 (Swirski et al, 2014), and is supported by our previous finding of significant spatial clusters of bovine fecal pats with a high prevalence of cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin resistant E. coli around these same night roost sites (Medhanie et al, 2016). Even after adjusting for on-farm starling density in the spatial analysis, there were statistically significant clusters of cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin resistant E. coli around these night roosts, suggesting that the clusters of antimicrobial resistant isolates do not depend on the specific density of starlings during the day, but possibly the movement of starlings on farms during travel to and from night roosts (Medhanie et al, 2016). In our ciprofloxacin model, the on-farm number of starlings was not a statistically significant variable, yet in our cefotaxime model, the presence of starlings on farm had a negative association with the presence of cefotaxime resistant E. coli in bovine fecal pats.…”

“…Further, spatial clusters of bovine fecal pats with a high prevalence of cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin resistant E. coli were identified around these same night roost sites (Medhanie et al, 2016). Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine if on-farm starling density and other management and environmental factors, including distance of farm from starling night roost sites, were associated with the presence of cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin resistant E. coli among dairy cattle in Ohio.…”

Epidemiology of Campylobacter, Salmonella and antimicrobial resistant Escherichia coli in free‐living Canada geese (Branta canadensis) from three sources in southern Ontario

“…E. coli) isolated from cattle (Cernicchiaro et al, 2012;Medhanie et al, 2016;Williams et al, 2011). Although in some instances, molecular data have suggested the transmission of these organisms occurred from agricultural animals to wild birds (Hughes et al, 2009;Waldenström et al, 2007), other research has suggested that wild birds play a role in transmitting pathogens and antimicrobial resistant bacteria among livestock facilities (Medhanie et al, 2016;Swirski et al, 2013). Despite the challenges in characterizing movement of pathogens between wild and domestic species, it is clear that some birds, with their migratory nature and ability to move long distances, have the potential to widely disseminate pathogens and antimicrobial resistant bacteria.…”

The Role of European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in the Dissemination of Multidrug-Resistant Escherichia coli among Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations

“…European starlings also thrive in urban landscapes, where food, water, and nesting resources are met 21 . Given these behavioral and ecological propensities, European starlings were hypothesized to play an important role in the dissemination of pathogenic bacteria, including AMR bacteria, to livestock and subsequently humans [24][25][26][27] . In our companion work, we identified that the total population of European starlings found on CAFOs was positively correlated with cattle fecal shedding of ciprofloxacin (CIP)-resistant Escherichia coli (E. coli), further highlighting an important role of these birds in the maintenance and dissemination of AMR 28 .…”