U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Food and Feed Safety Research: College Station, TX
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    CareersSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Plains Area College Station, Texas Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center Food and Feed Safety Research Research Publications at this Location





- ARS National Programs
- Search for a scientific manuscript
- Search for a research project
- ARS Software
- Programs and Projects
- Collaborations
- Subjects of Investigation
- Publications

Title:   Author  item
                                            NORMAN, KERI - Texas A&M Universityitem
                                            SCOTT, H - Kansas State Universityitem
                                            Harvey, Rogeritem
                                            NORBY, BO - Michigan State Universityitem
                                            Hume, Michael
  Submitted to: Foodborne Pathogens and Disease
                                    Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 12/15/2013
                                    Publication  Date: 4/4/2014
                                    Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/58657Citation: Norman, K.N., Scott, H.M., Harvey, R.B., Norby, B., Hume, M.E. 2014. Comparison of antimicrobial susceptibility among Clostridium difficile isolated from an integrated human and swine population in Texas. Foodborne Pathogens and Disease. 11:257-264.Interpretive Summary: Clostridium difficile (Cd) is a bacterium that causes disease and death in humans, and historically, the infection was acquired during hospital stays.  Recently, more virulent strains that are community-acquired have emerged.  Although the origin of the new strains is unknown, some speculate they could have come from animals or meat.  In the present study, we sampled human wastewater and swine feces from an integrated population of humans and swine and tested them for the presence of Cd isolates.  We tested 523 Cd isolates for susceptibility to eleven antibiotics commonly used in human hospitals.  We found that swine isolates had less antibiotic resistance than human ones and that resistance in swine workers was no different than non-swine workers.  This is important because it provides evidence that Cd was not transferred from swine to humans, and swine are not the source of Cd antibiotic resistance in humans.
                                Technical Abstract: Clostridium difficile can be a major problem in hospitals because the bacterium primarily affects individuals with an altered gut flora, which largely occurs through prolonged antibiotic use.  Proposed sources of increased community-acquired infections are food animals and retail meats.  The objective of this study was to compare the antimicrobial resistance patterns of C. difficile isolated from a closed, integrated population of humans and swine.  Swine fecal samples were collected from a vertically flowing swine population consisting of farrowing, nursery, breeding, and grower/finisher production groups.  Human wastewater samples were collected from swine worker and non-worker occupational group cohorts.  Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed on 523 C. difficile strains from the population using commercially available agar diffusion Epsilometer test (Etest) for 11 different antimicrobials.  All of the swine and human strains were susceptible to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, piperacillin/tazobactam, and vancomycin.  In addition, all the human strains were susceptible to chloramphenicol.  The majority of the human and swine strains had decreased susceptibility to cefoxitin and ciprofloxacin.  Statistically significant differences in antimicrobial susceptibility were found among the swine production groups for ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, and clindamycin.  No significant differences in antimicrobial susceptibility were found across human occupational group cohorts.  We found that 8.3% of the swine strains and 13.3% of the human strains exhibited decreased susceptibility to metronidazole.  The finding of differences in susceptibility patterns provides some evidence that transmission between host species in this integrated population is unlikely.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov