Review on the occurrence of the mcr-1 gene causing colistin resistance in cow's milk and dairy products

Ágnes Nagy,Rita Székelyhidi,Erika Hanczné Lakatos,Viktória Kapcsándi

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06800

Abstract

Both livestock farmers and the clinic use significant amount of antibiotics worldwide, in many cases the same kind. Antibiotic resistance is not a new phenomenon, however, it is a matter of concern that resistance genes (mcr - Mobilized Colistin Resistance - genes) that render last-resort drugs (Colistin) ineffective, have already evolved. Nowadays, there is a significant consumption of milk and dairy products, which, if not treated properly, can contain bacteria (mainly Gram-negative bacteria). We collected articles and reviews in which Gram-negative bacteria carrying the mcr-1 gene have been detected in milk, dairy products, or cattle. Reports have shown that although the incidence is still low, unfortunately the gene has been detected in some dairy products on almost every continent. In the interest of our health, the use of colistin in livestock farming must be banned as soon as possible, and new treatments should be applied so that we can continue to have a chance in fighting multidrug-resistant bacteria in human medicine.

Highlights

Cow's milk is a nutritious liquid and known to be consumed by humankind for centuries
The following keywords were used in the search: „colistin resistance”, „colistin and milk”, „mcr-1 and milk”, „ESBL (Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase) and milk”, „cheese and colistin”, „cheese and mcr-100, „yogurt and mcr-100, „yogurt and colistin”, „E.coli and colistin”
A number of reviews were written on the subject, for example Gharaibeh and Shatnawi (2019) published a great article showing the widespread use of colistin in the world

Summary

Introduction

Cow's milk is a nutritious liquid and known to be consumed by humankind for centuries. Its consumption had probably started with the domestication of the cow. Recent statistics show that milk consumption in the world is constantly increasing. The largest consumer of milk is India (77.7M tons), followed by the EU (33.4 M tons), and the is the US (Shahbandeh 2020a). At least 3% of the US population consumes raw milk (Liu et al, 2020a). The major milk producers are these three countries, with the EU leading the list (155M tons), followed by the US (99M tons) (Shahbandeh 2020b)

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