Antimicrobial Resistance Arising from Food-Animal Productions and Its Mitigation

Abstract

Antibiotics are routinely used in livestock production to treat and prevent diseases, or more often to promote growth of animals at sub-therapeutic doses. However, the huge amount of antibiotics used selects for resistant bacteria, resulting in development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) mostly in intestinal microbiota of food animals. Therefore, animal manure constitutes the single largest reservoir of AMR. Although most of the AMR is carried by commensal bacteria, AMR genes can be transferred to pathogens of both animals and humans through horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Therefore, animal manure is a source of AMR contamination and poses a potential risk to human health. Because animal manure is the largest reservoir of AMR, management and treatment of animal manure provide an opportunity to contain and destruct AMR arising from food animal production. Several technologies are available for management and disposal of animal manure, including lagoon storage, intensive biological treatments, composting, and land application. These technologies differ in containing and reducing AMR as they create different physiochemical and biological conditions, which affect the survival of bacteria including antimicrobialresistant bacteria. In this chapter, we discuss the development and occurrence of AMR arising from food animal production, as well as strategies and technologies to mitigate dissemination of AMR off farms to broad environment.