A new research study led by Patrícia Antunes, researcher at the BacT_Drugs Lab at UCIBIO-University of Porto, revealed the impact of long-term colistin restrictions at Portuguese chicken farms, emphasizing the importance of farm-to-fork strategies to mitigate antimicrobial resistance and guide effective public health policies. The results of this study were published in the Journal Microbiology Spectrum: “From Farm to Fork: Persistence of Clinically-Relevant Multidrug-Resistant and Copper-Tolerant Klebsiella pneumoniae long after Colistin Withdrawal in Poultry Production.”
Dissemination of bacteria resistant to last-resort antibiotics like colistin throughout the food chain is a major concern for public health. To minimize this problem, the poultry sector has been restricting the use of colistin and exploring alternatives such as trace copper feed supplements. However, it is unclear how these measures impact the selection and persistence of Klebsiella pneumoniae resistant to colistin throughout the poultry production chain, a clinically relevant bacteria responsible for a high rate of human infections.
Despite low chicken meat contamination and the absence of transferable colistin resistance genes, we found a high occurrence of copper-tolerant and colistin-resistant K. pneumoniae in chicken flocks, independently on the type of the copper type used in supplements (inorganic and organic).
Furthermore, the occurrence of Klebsiella pneumoniae strains and plasmids similar to those causing infections in humans, suggests that this niche could be a food or environmental source of clinically relevant bacteria.
“Our findings underscore the importance of surveillance and proactive farm-to-fork strategies to mitigate risks to public health, involving producers, consumers, and regulatory bodies in the fight against antimicrobial resistance, and promoting food safety and environmental sustainability”, concludes Patrícia Antunes, leader of the study.
Article
From Farm to Fork: Persistence of Clinically-Relevant Multidrug-Resistant and Copper-Tolerant Klebsiella pneumoniae long after Colistin Withdrawal in Poultry Production
Mourão J, Ribeiro-Almeida M, Novais C, Magalhães M, Rebelo A, Ribeiro S, Peixe L, Novais Â, Antunes P. Microbiol Spectr. 2023 Jul 10:e0138623.
doi: 10.1128/spectrum.01386-23