Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria from Swine Farms Compared to Row Crop Farms

Abstract

Swine waste management system performance standards adopted in North Carolina include criteria relative to disease-transmitting pathogens. To facilitate the design and management of manure treatment systems to meet such criteria, objective data relative to target pathogenic bacteria is essential. A primary objective of this study included assessing antibiotic resistant enteric bacteria in 11 swine farms and, for comparison, 6 row crop farms in eastern NC. The following components were addressed in order to assess potential impacts on environmental water and on human health effects for those who live near or worked on the farms: 1) presence and frequency of antibiotic resistant enteric bacteria, 2) presence in surrounding environmental waters of enteric bacteria from the farms, and 3) frequencies of antibiotic resistance and proportions of multiple antibiotic resistance, in people who live near or work on the swine farms compared with people associated with row crop farms.