Journal Articles

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/7915

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    The characterisation of antimicrobial resistant Escherichia coli from dairy calves.
    (Microbiology Society, 2023-08) Mwenifumbo M; Cookson AL; Zhao S; Fayaz A; Browne AS; Benschop J; Burgess SA
    Introduction. Dairy calves, particularly pre-weaned calves have been identified as a common source of multidrug resistant (MDR) Escherichia coli. Gap statement. E. coli strains isolated from dairy calves and the location of their resistance genes (plasmid or chromosomal) have not been well characterised. Aim. To characterise the phenotypic and genotypic features as well as the population structure of antimicrobial-resistant E. coli isolated from calves located on dairy farms that feed waste-milk to their replacement calves. Methodology. Recto-anal swab enrichments from 40 dairy calves (≤ 14 days old) located on four dairy farms were examined for tetracycline, streptomycin, ciprofloxacin, and third-generation cephalosporin resistant E. coli. Whole genome sequencing was performed using both short- and long-read technologies on selected antimicrobial resistant E. coli. Results. Fifty-eight percent (23/40) of calves harboured antimicrobial resistant E. coli: 43 % (17/40) harboured tetracycline resistant, and 23 % (9/40) harboured chromosomal mediated AmpC producing E. coli. Whole genome sequencing of 27 isolates revealed five sequence types, with ST88 being the dominant ST (17/27, 63 % of the sequenced isolates) followed by ST1308 (3/27, 11 %), along with the extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli lineages ST69 (3/27, 11 %), ST10 (2/27, 7 %), and ST58 (2/27, 7 %). Additionally, 16 isolates were MDR, harbouring additional resistance genes that were not tested phenotypically. Oxford Nanopore long-read sequencing technologies enabled the location of multiple resistant gene cassettes in IncF plasmids to be determined. Conclusion. Our study identified a high incidence of tetracycline and streptomycin-resistant E. coli in dairy calves, and highlighted the presence of multidrug-resistant strains, emphasising the need for further investigation into potential associations with farm management practices.
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    Transmission dynamics of an antimicrobial resistant Campylobacter jejuni lineage in New Zealand’s commercial poultry network
    (Elsevier B.V, 2021-12) Greening SS; Zhang J; Midwinter AC; Wilkinson DA; Fayaz A; Williamson DA; Anderson MJ; Gates MC; French NP
    Understanding the relative contribution of different between-farm transmission pathways is essential in guiding recommendations for mitigating disease spread. This study investigated the association between contact pathways linking poultry farms in New Zealand and the genetic relatedness of antimicrobial resistant Campylobacter jejuni Sequence Type 6964 (ST-6964), with the aim of identifying the most likely contact pathways that contributed to its rapid spread across the industry. Whole-genome sequencing was performed on 167C. jejuni ST-6964 isolates sampled from across 30 New Zealand commercial poultry enterprises. The genetic relatedness between isolates was determined using whole genome multilocus sequence typing (wgMLST). Permutational multivariate analysis of variance and distance-based linear models were used to explore the strength of the relationship between pairwise genetic associations among the C. jejuni isolates and each of several pairwise distance matrices, indicating either the geographical distance between farms or the network distance of transportation vehicles. Overall, a significant association was found between the pairwise genetic relatedness of the C. jejuni isolates and the parent company, the road distance and the network distance of transporting feed vehicles. This result suggests that the transportation of feed within the commercial poultry industry as well as other local contacts between flocks, such as the movements of personnel, may have played a significant role in the spread of C. jejuni. However, further information on the historical contact patterns between farms is needed to fully characterise the risk of these pathways and to understand how they could be targeted to reduce the spread of C. jejuni.