Abstract
Small-scale farming may have large impacts on the selection and spread of antimicrobial resistance to humans. We conducted an observational study to evaluate antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli populations from poultry and humans in rural northwestern Esmeraldas, Ecuador. Our study site is a remote region with historically low resistance levels of third-generation antibiotics such cefotaxime (CTX), a clinically relevant antibiotic, in both poultry and humans. Our study revealed 1) high CTX resistance (66.1%) in farmed broiler chickens, 2) an increase in CTX resistance over time in backyard chicken not fed antibiotics (2.3-17.9%), and 3) identical bla CTX-M sequences from human and chicken bacteria, suggesting a spillover event. These findings provide evidence that small-scale meat production operations have direct impacts on the spread and selection of clinically important antibiotics among underdeveloped settings.
Publication types
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Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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Agriculture / methods
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Animals
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Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
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Cefotaxime / pharmacology
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Chickens
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Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial / genetics*
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Ecuador / epidemiology
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Escherichia coli / drug effects
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Escherichia coli / enzymology
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Escherichia coli / genetics*
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Escherichia coli Infections / epidemiology
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Escherichia coli Infections / microbiology
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Escherichia coli Infections / transmission
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Escherichia coli Infections / veterinary*
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Escherichia coli Proteins / genetics*
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Escherichia coli Proteins / metabolism
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Gene Expression
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Humans
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Microbial Sensitivity Tests
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Poultry
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Poultry Diseases / epidemiology*
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Poultry Diseases / microbiology
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Poultry Diseases / transmission
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Prevalence
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beta-Lactam Resistance / genetics
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beta-Lactamases / genetics*
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beta-Lactamases / metabolism
Substances
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Anti-Bacterial Agents
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Escherichia coli Proteins
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beta-Lactamases
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beta-lactamase CTX-M, E coli
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Cefotaxime