Abstract
Canada has implemented on-farm antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance systems for food-producing animals under the Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance (CIPARS); however, dairy cattle have not been included in that program yet. The objective of this manuscript was to describe the development and implementation of the Canadian Dairy Network for Antimicrobial Stewardship and Resistance (CaDNetASR). An Expert Panel (EP) of researchers was created to lead the development of the dairy surveillance system. The EP initiated a draft document outlining the essential elements of the surveillance framework. This document was then circulated to a Steering Committee (SC), which provided recommendations used by the EP to finalize the framework. CaDNetASR has the following components: (1) a herd-level antimicrobial use quantification system; (2) annually administered risk factor questionnaires; and (3) methods for herd-level detection of AMR in three sentinel enteric pathogens (generic Escherichia coli, Campylobacter spp., and Salmonella spp.) recovered from pooled fecal samples collected from calves, heifers, cows, and the manure pit. A total of 144 dairy farms were recruited in five Canadian provinces (British-Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Québec, and Nova-Scotia), with the help of local herd veterinarians and regional field workers, and in September 2019, the surveillance system was launched. 97.1 and 94.4% of samples were positive for E. coli, 63.8, and 49.1% of samples were positive for Campylobacter spp., and 5.0 and 7.7% of samples were positive for Salmonella spp., in 2019 and 2020, respectively. E. coli was equally distributed among all sample types. However, it was more likely that Campylobacter spp. were recovered from heifer and cow samples. On the other hand, it was more common to isolate Salmonella spp. from the manure pit compared to samples from calves, heifers, or cows. CaDNetASR will continue sampling until 2022 after which time this system will be integrated into CIPARS. CaDNetASR will provide online access to farmers and veterinarians interested in visualizing benchmarking metrics regarding AMU practices and their relationship to AMR and animal health in dairy herds. This will provide an opportunity to enhance antimicrobial stewardship practices on dairy farms in Canada.
Highlights
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a natural phenomenon that occurs when bacteria evolve and no longer respond to antimicrobial drugs that previously were efficacious
Research personnel from five veterinary colleges in Canada (University of Prince Edward Island, University of Guelph, University of Saskatchewan, University of Montreal, University of Calgary) and Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) recognized the lack of information regarding antimicrobial use (AMU), AMR, and the importance of improving antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) in the Canadian dairy sector
As the AMU stewardship was a key component in the surveillance system, the sample size was calculated to estimate an AMU rate with a precision of +/- 0.3 for various antimicrobials based on the assumption that 95% of the farms have AMU rates between 0.001 and 4 ADD/1,000 cows [26]
Summary
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a natural phenomenon that occurs when bacteria evolve and no longer respond to antimicrobial drugs that previously were efficacious. Research personnel from five veterinary colleges in Canada (University of Prince Edward Island, University of Guelph, University of Saskatchewan, University of Montreal, University of Calgary) and PHAC recognized the lack of information regarding AMU, AMR, and the importance of improving AMS in the Canadian dairy sector Together they decided to develop a surveillance system to fill the knowledge gap. The following inclusion criteria were considered: [1] farms should be enrolled in ProAction/CQM (national mandatory certification program focused on several aspects of milk production) and DHI (dairy herd improvement organization responsible for milk recording, genetic evaluations and knowledge transfer in Canada); [2] minimum herd size of 50 animals except for Nova Scotia, that was minimum herd size of 40 animals; [3] raise their replacement heifers on-site; [4] Antimicrobial-free, organic or robotic herds should be enrolled proportional to their prevalence in a given region; [5] farmers should be willing to provide/share drug purchase information obtained from their veterinary clinics and feed mills. Peer-reviewed publications and abstracts for conferences are being prepared according to data availability
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