Epidemiology of antimicrobial resistance in enterococci of animal origin

To what extent veterinarians active in the dairy or beef sector follow the antimicrobial therapy guidelines made available in different European countries for bovine respiratory disease (BRD) outbreaks, and whether differences in therapeutic or preventive preferences for BRD management exist, is currently unknown. Therefore, the objectives of this cross-sectional study were to compare vaccination coverage and primary antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory treatment on dairy, beef and mixed-breed farms in northern Belgium, and determine their compliance with the recommendations made by the Belgian formulary. Information on antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory drug use and vaccination coverage from 190 BRD outbreaks in 180 herds, submitted by 101 veterinarians, was analysed. Multivariable linear probability models, adjusted for clustering at the veterinarian level, were used to determine differences between dairy and beef farms. Antimicrobials and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were used in 93.5% and 81.7% of the BRD outbreaks, respectively. First-line antimicrobials were used as primary treatment in only 42.3%, 50.9% and 38.6% of dairy, beef and mixed-breed farms, respectively. Significant differences (p<0.05) were observed between dairy and beef farms in terms of use of long-acting macrolides (-17.2 percentage points [pp]; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -31.9, -2.5), steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (15.2 pp; CI: 0.5, 29.8) and vaccination coverage (bovine respiratory syncytial virus, parainfluenza virus type 3 [33.1 pp; Cl: 15.7-50.6] and Mannheimia haemolytica [23.1 pp; Cl: 3.4-39.8]). The herds that participated in this study were likely among the more motivated regarding BRD control. As such, the information on vaccination coverage is likely not entirely representative of herds in the study area. Interpretation is further complicated by the fact that vaccinated herds were potentially less likely to face a BRD outbreak and therefore participate in the current study. This study reveals differences in the primary use of (N)SAIDs, type of antimicrobials used and vaccination coverage on beef and dairy farms in the study region, and also differences in the appropriateness of antimicrobial selection based on the Belgian formulary.

Tick infestation is a major problem constraining animal production and productivity in Ethiopia showing the need for tackling the situation. A crosssectional study was carried out to determine tick prevalence and associated risk factors among cattle reared on dairy, beef and free-range grazing farms of Haramaya University from November 2014 to April 2015. A total of 519 animals were randomly selected. Ticks were collected and identified under stereomicroscopic examination. A total of 384 (73.9%) animals were positive for tick infestation which was higher on both beef (79.2%) and dairy (82.3%) than on free-range grazing (32.4%) cattle with OR = 8 (95% CI 4.2-16.9) and OR= 9 (95% CI 5.0-18.8) in beef and dairy animals, respectively. Infestation was significantly lower on Borana breed (20%; 95% OR CI 0.5-1.99) than on others. Difference in infestation between sexes and among the age groups of animals were not observed (p &gt; 0.05). Of positive cattle, 52.9%, 12.8%, 7.0% and 27.3% were infested with single, two, three and four genera of ticks, respectively. In positive animals, subgenus Boophilus (51.0%), Amblyomma (58.3%), Hyalomma (48.2%) and Rhipicephalus (53.1%) tick genera were observed. Multiple tick genera infestation were more frequent in cattle managed under both beef (34.7 to 62.9%) and dairy (22.2 to 55.1%) farm types than that of free-range (4.4 to 14.8%) farm types. All the currently encountered tick genera infested 48.5%, 46.8% and 4.8% of beef, dairy and free range grazing cattle farms, respectively. The result showed all animals are found in endemic environment for tick infestation and thus the burden might cause economic loses mainly by reducing milk and meat yields, body weight gain, skin and hides quality, and risk of tick-borne diseases. Therefore, tick infestation in the study farms warrants strategic tick control approaches.Keywords: Beef farm; Dairy farm; Free-range grazing; Infestation; Tick genera

The mobilisation and impact of roadway runoff on dairy farms has been established as a sub-component of the nutrient transfer continuum. It is acknowledged that fresh nutrient sources deposited on roadways dominate runoff and recent work has shown that available phosphorus (P) in roadway substrates is also an important source component. The objectives of this study were to understand spatial and temporal available P concentrations in roadway substrate (aggregate and soil mix) across dairy and beef farms during the open (February–October, when cows use the roadway network and fields) and closed (November–January, when cows were housed) periods and identify locations which could be considered critical source areas (CSA). For the study, roadway substrate samples were taken at 18 locations on each farm, across eight sampling periods, and were analysed for available P. Results showed that mean available P concentrations (Morgan’s P) in the sampling locations ranged from 15.9 to 101.4 mg L-1 for the Dairy Farm, from 4.1 to 59.4 mg L-1 for Beef Farm 1 and from 6.3 to 23.2 mg L-1 for Beef Farm 2. In open period, the results showed that mean available P concentrations were 75.4 ± 30.9, 14.9 ± 3.2 and 13.4 ± 2.5 mg L-1 for the Dairy Farm, Beef Farm 1 and Beef Farm 2, respectively. In closed period, the mean available P were 40.3 ± 17.2, 10.4 ± 1.0 and 9.8 ± 0.2 mg L-1 for Dairy Farm, Beef Farm 1 and Beef Farm 2, respectively. Overall, P concentrations on the Dairy Farm roadways was up to 4 times greater than that in the Beef Farms’ roadways. Compared to soils in adjacent fields, P concentrations in the Dairy and Beef Farms roadways was up-to 7 and 2 times higher, respectively. Critical roadway sections that required mitigation were two in the Dairy Farm, one in Beef Farm 1 and two in Beef Farm 2. In addition to fresh faeces and urine (i.e., dominant source of nutrients in farm roadways), this study showed that nutrient enriched roadway materials are a labile P source. Thus, future mitigation of roadway runoff must consider all roadway nutrient sources, including livestock fresh excreta as well as used roadway surface materials.

A voluntary control programme for Johne’s disease, the Irish Johne’s Control Programme (IJCP) has been implemented in Ireland since 2017. The objective of this observational study was to assess Irish beef and dairy farmers’ Johne’s disease knowledge, implemented management practices and IJCP opinions. A questionnaire open to dairy and beef farmers was distributed via social media and email. In total 126 responses were used for this study; these responses came from mostly young farmers (18–25 years old) and represent a small proportion of the total number of dairy and beef farmers in Ireland whose average age is 55.Most respondents claimed to know what Johne’s disease was (73%; 92/126) and associated the disease to loss of body condition (68%; 78/114) and diarrhoea (59%; 67/114). Twenty-eight respondents (mostly dairy farmers; 22/28) reported positive cases in their premises. And 38% reported to implement management practices to prevent Johne’s disease transmission within or into their herd (i.e. management of milk for calf consumption and isolation of Johne’s test-positive or newly purchased stock; 47/124).Eighteen percent (22/125) of respondents were, at the time of questionnaire or previously, members of the IJCP. The main benefits reported by some of the participating farmers were identification of positive cases (29%; 4/14), and management of milk for calf consumption (21%; 3/14). While the main disadvantage was inaccurate testing methods (50%; 10/20). The main reasons reported for the lack of participation in the IJCP were not being aware of the programme (52%; 53/102) and not having a Johne’s disease problem on the farm (48%; 49/102).In conclusion, this study suggests that while young farmers are aware of Johne’s disease, their participation in the IJCP is limited and could benefit from further promotion. Studies representing the wider farming community in Ireland are warranted to gather non-biased input and contribute to Johne’s disease control in Ireland.

Escherichia coli O157 prevalence in different cattle farm types and identification of potential risk factors.

Antimicrobial Resistance from Enterococci in a Pediatric Hospital. Plasmids in Enterococcus faecalis Isolates with High-Level Gentamicin and Streptomycin Resistance

Optimal utilization of limited resources, such as water and feed in beef and dairy cattle farms, is considered important. Considering that Indonesia aim to boost production to meet increasing demands, the lack of information of resource usage in this industry impedes the formulation of effective strategies for increasing production responsibly. Therefore, this study aims to bridge the information gap to enable sustainable development in the form of water and feed productivity analysis in beef and dairy farms. We interviewed farm owners and measured water use and feed consumption from various cattle farms in Bandung Regency. We found that beef cattle are more efficient in converting feed into produce (0.59 kg beef/kg feed) than dairy cattle (0.335 kg milk/ kg feed). However, beef cattle have lower water productivity (0.0297 kg beef/L) than dairy cattle (0.08 kg milk/L) excluding the water requirement for growing feed. In the case of adding water usage for growing grass feed with, the water productivity significantly reduced to 0.0023 kg beef/L and 0.0031 kg milk/L. Based on calculations, additional water intake is needed for beef and milk production, especially for growing cattle feed that cannot be met solely through rainwater and reuse of greywater.

With the aim of comparing the prevalence of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157 and O26 between beef and dairy cattle, we collected rectal content samples from 250 beef cattle on 25 beef farms and 250 dairy cows on 25 dairy farms from July through September 2011. STEC O157 was isolated from 16 beef cattle on 7 beef farms, while no STEC O157 was isolated from any dairy farms. This result suggests that the prevalence of STEC O157 is higher in beef cattle than in dairy cattle. STEC O26 was isolated from 1 animal each from beef and dairy cattle herds, and therefore, it was not possible to compare statistically the prevalence of STEC O26 in beef and dairy cattle.

Occurrence of glycopeptide resistance among Enterococcus faecium isolates from conventional and ecological poultry farms.

본 연구는 한우, 젖소, 돼지, 산란계 HACCP 적용 농장의 분변, 원유 및 사육환경에서 병원성세균 등 분석을 통하여 HACCP 적용 농장의 생물학적 위해 관리 실태를 파악하고자 하고 이를 농장 HACCP 시스템 적용에 관한 기초 연구 자료로 사용하는 것을 목적으로 하였다. 미생물 시료는 HACCP을 적용 중인 한우, 젖소, 돼지, 산란계농장의 축사바닥분뇨, 퇴비사, 원유탱크, 집란기, 분변 벨트 등에서 채취 하였으며 축산식품의 생물학적 위해인 Pathogenic E. coli, Salmonella spp. S. aureus 등을 분석하였다. 각 축종별 대장균은 분변에서 100% 검출되었으나 Salmonella spp.는 검출되지 않았다. 또한 젖소농장의 원유 냉각기에서도 S. aurues가 검출되지 않았다. 그러나 돼지농장의 돈사바닥 및 퇴비장에서는 검사건수 30건당 각각 2건, 1건의 Salmonella spp.가 검출되었다. 마찬가지로 산란계농장의 계사바닥 및 분변벨트에서도 전체분석 건수 대비 10~20%의 Salmonella spp.가 검출되었다. 이러한 결과는 문헌상 보고되고 있는 일반축산농가의 병원성세균 관리실태와 간접 비교하였을 경우 HACCP 시스템을 적용중인 축산농가에서의 일반축산농가보다 병원성 세균관리가 더욱 철저히 이루어지고 있는 것으로 판단된다. The aim of this study was to understand the management level of pathogenic bacteria in HACCP system implemented animal farms. Microbial samples were collected from manure, floor, compost depot, manure on belt, low milk tank, dust in laying house and egg collector in HACCP system implemented Korean beef cattle, dairy cattle, swine, and laying Hens farms. O157, O111 and O26 strains of E. coli were not detected in HACCP system implemented Korean beef cattle farm. The detection rate of E. coli from manure and floor in HACCP system implemented cattle farms (Korean beef cattle and dairy farm) was lower than those of non-HACCP system implemented cattle farm. Salmonella spp. was detected in HACCP system implemented cattle farms (Korean beef cattle and dairy farm). Compared with pervious studies, lower detection rate of Salmonella spp. at floor and compost depot in HACCP system implemented swine and commercial layer farms were indicated. In conclusion, implementation of HACCP system in animal farms would enhance the management level of biological hazard compare to normal animal farms.

To examine and compare the technical efficiency of dairy sector and the beef sector, this research introduced the main indicators of milk and beef production in the world, EU and Hungarian aggregates. Based on the data it can be said that the milk and beef production of Hungary does not occupy any significant position in the world as well as in the European Union neither today nor even in the past. If Hungry must compete in the European counties and international market, their dairy sector must focus to increase of their production efficiency as the key breakthrough point. This paper we compared technical efficiency of both dairy and beef sectors in total, for the year 2014 and 2015 separately and based on the farm size. The specific objectives of the research are: comparing dairy and beef farms efficiency in Hungary. Based on the results, we can determine which sector in Hungary is more effective. The second objective is to compare the efficiencies of both the sectors in 2014 and 2015 separately and from the results we can determine which year was more effective in terms of production efficiency and the third objective of the research is technical efficiency comparison of certain economic sizes for both sectors. In the research, we used (KOVACS, 2009) deterministic (DEA) model adapted to the Hungarian dairy farms and beef farms. For the dairy farms milk and dairy products as well as meat (other income). The input factors originated from the domestic AKI - FADN database. Summarizing the results of the research it can be conclude that the dairy sector is more effective than the beef sector in Hungary. In terms of years compared 2014 was more effective for both sector as compared with 2015. In regards to the farm size almost the same result in evaluating the scale of efficiency, which means that large economies can in most cases, manage resources more efficiently than small farms. In the examined years, based on the results of the DEA model, the VRS technical efficiency of the test for these two years was 72.90% for the dairy farms and 63.60% for the beef farms, which means that the dairy sector is more efficient than the beef sector in Hungary. The VRS technical efficiency of the research was 82.10% in 2014 and 75.10% in 2015 for the dairy farms and 77.50% in 2014 and 68.90% in 2015 for the beef farms, which means that both the dairy sector and the beef sectors followed the same trend and were more efficient in 2014 compared to the efficiency in 2015. The large size dairy farms were most effective in Hungary in the examined period (90.90%). VRS technical efficiency for small farms is 88% and the total number of small, the technical efficiency medium farms was 72.80% For the beef sector VRS technical efficiency for small farms is 71.30% and the technical efficiency medium farms was 74.40% and 70% of the beef meat producing farms in Hungary are medium sized. So, the conclusion is the small size dairy farms have a higher VRS efficiency than the small size beef farms whereas medium sized beef farms had higher VRS efficiency than the medium size dairy farms. As a conclusion, both dairy and beef sectors in Hungary have the potential to overcome technology and knowledge constraints and attain the upmost attainable productivity level through improvements in; farmer volume of production i.e. output, beef cattle technologies, and advertising, and the efficiency of the technology transfer process.&#x0D; JEL Code: Q13

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) and brucellosis are significant zoonoses that pose serious challenges to the cattle industry and present risks to human health. This study focused on dairy and beef cattle farms in Hubei Province, China, with the aim of assessing the current seroprevalence and identifying risk factors associated with these diseases. A comprehensive serological survey was conducted in Hubei Province from May 2023 to January 2024. Using a stratified systematic sampling approach, we collected 5889 samples from 160 cattle farms across the province to evaluate the prevalence of bTB and brucellosis. The results indicated an overall individual seroprevalence of 1.9% for bTB, with notable regional variations, whereas brucellosis had a higher individual seroprevalence of 2.9%. At the herd level, the prevalence of bTB was 17.5%, whereas it was 8.1% for brucellosis. Notably, the highest individual prevalence of both diseases was recorded in southwestern Hubei. The analysis also revealed that dairy cattle were more frequently positive for both bTB (Odds ratio (OR) = 4.9, 95% CI: 3.3, 7.3) and brucellosis (OR = 11.8, 95% CI: 8.6, 16.1) than beef cattle were. Generalized linear mixed models also revealed that dairy cattle had greater odds of infection than beef cattle did for both bTB (OR = 6.01, 95% CI: 1.4, 25.9, p = 0.017) and brucellosis (OR = 8.11, 95% CI: 1.7, 38.1, p = 0.008) at the herd level. The herd size did not significantly affect disease incidence. These results highlight the critical need for focused intervention tactics, strengthened biosecurity protocols, and enhanced surveillance programs to protect public health and improve animal welfare.

Small changes in the large stock of soil organic carbon (SOC) can have a substantial influence on the climate impact of agriculture. We used information from a Swedish soil monitoring program, in combination with farm census data, to analyze decadal SOC concentrations and SOC stock changes on dairy farms compared with other farm types, and to quantify the climate impact of these changes on dairy farms. Soil monitoring data included topsoil samples from two inventories on 159 dairy farms, 86 beef farms, 318 arable farms, and 13 pig farms, taken at the same locations in 2001–2007 and 2011–2017. Concentrations of SOC on dairy farms (3.0%) were significantly higher than on arable farms (2.3%) and pig farms (2.4%), but not significantly different from beef farms (3.1%). SOC concentration was correlated with proportion of ley at farm scale. SOC stocks in the upper 20 cm increased significantly on dairy, beef, and arable farms, by 0.38, 0.14, and 0.21 Mg C ha−1 year−1, respectively, between 2001–2007 and 2011–2017. For dairy farms, this corresponded to −1.4 Mg CO2 ha−1 and approximately −0.22 kg CO2 kg−1 energy-corrected milk, demonstrating that SOC changes could have a substantial influence on the climate footprint of milk.

Flooding on Beef and Swine Farms: A Scoping Review of Effects in the Midwestern United States

The overuse of antibiotics in livestock contributes to the antibiotic resistance pandemic. The assessment of the actual antibiotic consumption is crucial in limiting the expansion of the problem effectively. The aim of this study was to provide the first qualitative and quantitative analysis of antimicrobial usage using data from paper-based registers on dairy and beef farms located in the Umbria region, Italy. Antimicrobial therapies of a one-year period were collected from 101 farms with at least 50 cattle each. Defined daily doses (DDDvet) and defined course doses (DCDvet) were calculated per administration route and antimicrobial class. The total courses administered were fewer in beef (330.7 × 10−3 DCDvet/year) than in dairy farms (1034.1 × 10−3 DCDvet/year). The use of the highest priority critically important antimicrobials (HPCIAs) was higher (p = 0.0033) in dairy than in beef herds. In terms of DDDvet, the parenteral fluoroquinolone administration ranked second and fourth on dairy and beef farms, respectively; the consumption of beta-lactams was ten times higher on dairy than on beef farms. Our results confirm that intensive dairy management practices are associated with increased antibiotic consumption and highlight the necessity to strengthen the existing stewardship programs by involving all stakeholders in effective antimicrobial resistance reduction plans.