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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens our public health and is mainly driven by antimicrobial usage (AMU). For this reason the World Health Organization calls for detailed monitoring of AMU over all animal sectors involved. Therefore, we aimed to quantify AMU on turkey farms. First, turkey-specific Defined Daily Dose (DDDturkey) was determined. These were compared to the broiler alternative from the European Surveillance of Veterinary Antimicrobial Consumption (DDDvet), that mention DDDvet as a proxy for other poultry species. DDDturkey ranged from being 81.5% smaller to 48.5% larger compared to its DDDvet alternative for broilers. Second, antimicrobial treatments were registered on 60 turkey farms divided over France, Germany and Spain between 2014 and 2016 (20 flocks per country). Afterwards, AMU was quantified using treatment incidence (TI) per 100 days. TI expresses the percentage of the rearing period that the turkeys were treated with a standard dose of antimicrobials. Minimum, median and maximum TI at flock level and based on DDDturkey = 0.0, 10.0 and 65.7, respectively. Yet, a huge variation in amounts of antimicrobials used at flock level was observed, both within and between countries. Seven farms (12%) did not use any antimicrobials. Aminopenicillins, polymyxins, and fluoroquinolones were responsible for 72.2% of total AMU. The proportion of treating farms peaked on week five of the production cycle (41.7%), and 79.4% of the total AMU was administered in the first half of production. To conclude, not all DDDvet values for broilers can be applied to turkeys. Additionally, the results of AMU show potential for reducing and improving AMU on turkey farms, especially concerning the usage of critically important antimicrobials.

Bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is constantly evolving and horizontal gene transfer through plasmids plays a major role. The identification of plasmid characteristics and their association with different bacterial hosts provides crucial knowledge that is essential to understand the contribution of plasmids to the transmission of AMR determinants. Molecular identification of plasmid and strain genotypes elicits a distinction between spread of AMR genes by plasmids and dissemination of these genes by spread of bacterial clones. For this reason several methods are used to type the plasmids, e.g. PCR-based replicon typing (PBRT) or relaxase typing. Currently, there are 28 known plasmid types in Enterobacteriaceae distinguished by PBRT. Frequently reported plasmids [IncF, IncI, IncA/C, IncL (previously designated IncL/M), IncN and IncH] are the ones that bear the greatest variety of resistance genes. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of all known AMR-related plasmid families in Enterobacteriaceae, the resistance genes they carry and their geographical distribution.

Animal health and welfare have become topics of increasing public interest. Especially improvements in the health and welfare of food-producing animals are currently being intensively researched. To be able to routinely assess the quality of health and welfare of individual pig herds for benchmarking purposes in a simple and robust way, a short and easy to use measuring tool is needed. Since the very elaborate assessment tools of the Welfare Quality (R) (WQ) project (FOOD-CT-2004-506508) are too time-consuming for an assessment during a regular veterinary herd visit, easy to record indicators were targetly selected and supplemented by new elements in order to combine a number of measurements in one indicator, using the theoretical concept of iceberg indicators, which are thought to trigger further scrutiny into the management of pig herds that reveal potential deficiencies. The thus created simplified Herd Health and Welfare Index (HHWI) shows a theoretical range of 10 (very good) to a maximum of 30 (very bad) index points. It has been demonstrated that it can be used as an animal welfare measurement tool to compare herds within a group of pig herds that are measured by the same set of criteria. The HHWI has proven to be a rough, semi-quantitative, and a less elaborate tool than, for example, the complete protocol of the WQ-project. All in all, the HHWI has a broader range of application possibilities than the WQ-protocol due to its reduced number of criteria for the assessment of the health and welfare status of pig herds.

Animal health and welfare have become topics of increasing public interest. Especially improvements in the health and welfare of food-producing animals are currently being intensively researched. To be able to routinely assess the quality of health and welfare of individual pig herds for benchmarking purposes in a simple and robust way, a short and easy to use measuring tool is needed. Since the very elaborate assessment tools of the Welfare Quality (R) (WQ) project (FOOD-CT-2004-506508) are too time-consuming for an assessment during a regular veterinary herd visit, easy to record indicators were targetly selected and supplemented by new elements in order to combine a number of measurements in one indicator, using the theoretical concept of iceberg indicators, which are thought to trigger further scrutiny into the management of pig herds that reveal potential deficiencies. The thus created simplified Herd Health and Welfare Index (HHWI) shows a theoretical range of 10 (very good) to a maximum of 30 (very bad) index points. It has been demonstrated that it can be used as an animal welfare measurement tool to compare herds within a group of pig herds that are measured by the same set of criteria. The HHWI has proven to be a rough, semi-quantitative, and a less elaborate tool than, for example, the complete protocol of the WQ-project. All in all, the HHWI has a broader range of application possibilities than the WQ-protocol due to its reduced number of criteria for the assessment of the health and welfare status of pig herds.

International audience

De toepassing van drijfmest op akkers en grasland kan leiden tot verspreiding van diergeneesmiddelen naar bodem, grondwater en oppervlaktewater. Voor de 20 meest gebruikte antibiotica en antiparasitica in twee Nederlandse veehouderijsectoren, de intensieve varkens- en de kalverhouderij, hebben wij gebruiksgegevens en stofeigenschappen verzameld, zowel door middel van eigen metingen als uit de openbare literatuur. Met deze gegevens is voor deze stoffen de kans om de periode van mestopslag te overleven en vervolgens - na toepassing op het land - de kans op uitspoeling naar grond- en oppervlaktewater en persistentie in de bodem beoordeeld.

SUMMARYThe aim of this study was to determine the association between farm management factors, including antimicrobial drug usage, and resistance in commensalEscherichia coliisolates from the faeces of white veal calves. NinetyE. coliisolates from one pooled sample per farm (n = 48) were tested for their phenotypical resistance against amoxicillin, tetracycline, cefotaxime, ciprofloxacin and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX). Logistic regression analysis revealed the following risk factors (P 40 ADD/pc, tetracyclines (tetracycline, OR 13·1; amoxicillin, OR 6·5). In this study antimicrobial resistance in commensalE. coliwas mainly associated with antimicrobial drug use.

Quinolone resistance is studied and reported increasingly in isolates from humans, food-producing animals and companion animals. Resistance can be caused by chromosomal mutations in topoisomerase genes, plasmid-mediated resistance genes, and active transport through efflux pumps. Cross sectional data on quinolone resistance mechanisms in non-pathogenic bacteria from healthy veal calves is limited. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and characteristics of quinolone resistance mechanisms in Escherichia coli isolates from veal calves, after more than 20 years of quinolone usage in veal calves. MIC values were determined for all isolates collected as part of a national surveillance program on antimicrobial resistance in commensal bacteria in food-producing animals in The Netherlands. From the strains collected from veal calves in 2007 ( n = 175) all isolates with ciprofloxacin MIC ≥ 0.125 mg/L ( n = 25) were selected for this study, and screened for the presence of known quinolone resistance determinants. In this selection only chromosomal mutations in the topoisomerase type II and IV genes were detected. The number of mutations found per isolate correlated with an increasing ciprofloxacin MIC. No plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance genes were found. The contribution of efflux pumps varied from no contribution to a 16-fold increase in susceptibility. No correlation was found with the presence of resistance genes of other antimicrobial classes, even though all quinolone non-wild type isolates were resistant to 3 or more classes of antibiotics other than quinolones. Over twenty years of quinolone usage in veal calves in The Netherlands did not result in a widespread occurrence of plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance, limiting the transmission of quinolone resistance to clonal distribution.

Use of antimicrobials in animals poses a potential risk for public health as it contributes to the selection and spread of antimicrobial resistance. Although knowledge of the negative consequences of extensive antimicrobial use in humans and animals accumulated over the decades, total therapeutic antimicrobial use in farm animals in the Netherlands doubled between 1990 and 2007. A series of facts and events formed a window of opportunity to reduce antimicrobial use in farm animals. The recent discovery of significant reservoirs of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and extended spectrum beta-lactamase-producing bacteria (ESBL) in farm animals, with potential public health implications, combined with an increasing lack of confidence of the public in intensive livestock industries, and discrepancy between the very low antimicrobial use in humans and high use in animals, resulted in intensive collaboration between the government, veterinary professional organizations and important stakeholders within the livestock sector. A combination of compulsory and voluntary actions with clear reduction goals resulted in a 56% reduction in antimicrobial use in farm animals in the Netherlands between 2007 and 2012 and aims at accomplishing a 70% reduction target in 2015. This article describes and analyses the processes and actions behind this transition from an abundant antimicrobial use in farm animals towards a more prudent application of antimicrobials in farm animals in the Netherlands.

National audience