Ohio State vet team discover CRE in livestockDecember 6, 2016Ohio State University is reporting the first discovery of transmissible carbapenem-resistant enterobactericeae (CRE) in U.S. livestock. Normally, these multidrug-resistant bacteria can produce serious life-threatening disease and are found primarily in hospitalized patients, so they are considered an "urgent" public health threat by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To find the bacteria is livestock presents a serious threat both to animal and human health through fresh meat products. "Finding CRE at a livestock farm in the U.S. is definitely a concern, and represents another escalation of the antibiotic resistance threat", said Thomas Wittum, MS, Ph.D, professor and chair of Veterinary Preventive Medicine at Ohio State University (OSU). He led the research team that discovered the CRE in a swine farrow-to-finish operation. Specifically, the CRE were discovered in the farrowing and nursery barns at a 1,500 sow, farrow-to-finish swine farm. Several species of bacteria with the same resistance gene known as IMP-27 were repeatedly found by researchers during regular visits to the farm. Carbapenems are never used in animals intended for food, but other types of beta-lactam antibiotics, such as ceftiofur, are commonly used on farms to treat sick animals. …
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