Poultry Workers
Carriers of Drug-resistant E. coli
[Posted 01/08/2008]
According to a study published in the December 2007
edition of Environmental Health Perspectives,
US poultry workers are 32 times more likely to carry
E. coli bacteria resistant to the antibiotic
gentamicin—a drug commonly-used to treat both
poultry and humans—than others outside the industry.
And these workers may be spreading the
drug-resistant bacteria into the community.
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School
of Public Health studied 16 poultry workers and 33
community residents in Maryland and Virginia. Stool
samples obtained from the participants were tested
for resistance to ampicillin, ciprofloxacin,
ceftriazone, gentamicin, and tetracycline. The
results showed that poultry workers were 32 times
more likely to be colonized with gentamicin-resistant
E. coli than other members of the community
and were also at significantly increased risk of
carrying multidrug-resistant E. coli.
Researchers concluded that “occupational exposure
to live animals in the broiler chicken industry may
be an important route of entry for
antimicrobial-resistant bacteria into the
community.” The study’s lead author, Lance B. Price
spoke to Newsday.com. “Many of these workers wear
uniforms,” he said, which often are laundered at
home and handled by other household members who can
be exposed.
As
food animal production has shifted from the
independent farmer to large-scale, industrialized
operations, the use of antimicrobials in feeds has
increased. Birds are given antibiotics to prevent
and treat illnesses and to stimulate growth. There
are currently 16 different antimicrobial drugs
approved for use in US poultry production, and
gentamicin is reported to be the most widely used.
Ellen
K. Silbergeld, PhD, senior author of the study,
said “One of the major implications of this study
is to underscore the importance of the non-hospital
environment in the origin of drug resistant
infections.”
Related Links:
Environmental Health Perspectives Abstract and Article
Food Production Daily Article
NewsDay Article
Digital Journal Article
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