PIG FARMS AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS AS A FACTOR IN THE SPREAD OF ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE

Abstract

In recent decades, in modern intensive animal husbandry, there has been a worrying trend towards the selection and spread of bacterial strains resistant to antibiotics. This global phenomenon has not only a certain negative effect on therapeutic practice, but also poses a serious risk to the spread of resistance in the food chain and in humans. Various genera from the family Enterobacteria like Salmonella, Shigella, Klebsiella, Yersinia, Citrobacter, etc. and especially Escherichia coli have a special place in this process. The most commonly used antibiotics for treatment of patients with complicated Salmonella infections are ceftriaxone and ciprofloxacin, to which the bacteria has already developed antibiotic resistance. For Escherichia coli, significantly increased resistance is developed to the third-generation cephalosporins, aminoglycosides, as well as combined resistance to three key antimicrobial groups (fluoroquinolones, third-generation cephalosporins and aminoglycosides). Resistance among Yersinia spp. against tetracyclines and fluorochinolones has been reported to the scientific community in numerous studies on human and animal isolates. By using the raw manure as fertilizer, these microorganisms may be transmitted to soil, wastewater or others environmental niches. Further, they can be transmitted via the food chain to humans and animals. Considering that the horizontal gene transfer is one of the most important mechanisms for transmitting of antimicrobial resistance, then after consumption of contaminated food, water, etc., genetically determined antibiotic resistance in animals can easily affect resistance among people, which makes vital drugs ineffective against serious illnesses. For the possible spread of antimicrobial resistance in pigs and related ecological niches - pig farms, manure lagoons, wastewater and soils, large-scale studies are being conducted to clarify their ecological and health significance. In addition, the results obtained will contribute to the development of an effective national strategy for the control of antimicrobial resistance.