October 27, 2010

US researchers to work on cattle system management

Kansas State University will use a US$2 million grant from the USDA for improving food safety in beef and dairy cattle systems in the US and Canada.

It will collaborate on the project with researchers from other US universities and the Public Health Agency of Canada. The progress and achievements of the integrated project will be evaluated by K-State's office of educational innovation and evaluation.

"Our overall goal is to identify, evaluate and implement practical interventions for managing antibiotic resistance in beef and dairy cattle systems," said H. Morgan Scott, a professor in K-State's department of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology.

"We focus on the longstanding problem of resistance emergence, dissemination and persistence among enteric bacteria. If pathogenic bacteria resistant to antibiotics enter the food chain, treatment of humans can be complicated.

"Threats to the continued use of several common agricultural formulations of antimicrobials are looming in the form of FDA guidance documents and draft federal legislation," Scott said. "Having scientifically proven tools available to veterinarians and producers to counter bacterial resistance where and when it arises is essential to maintaining public trust in our abilities to manage threats to public health."

The costs to animal agriculture will be tremendous if certain classes or uses of antibiotics are no longer available, Scott said.

"The use of antibiotics for treatment and prevention of bacterial infections in beef and dairy cattle is essential for producing safe and wholesome food for consumers, for maximising the welfare of animals, and for sustaining profitability in animal agriculture," he said.

"We want to employ molecular microbiology to discover the mechanisms underlying several paradoxical responses of resistant strains to antibiotic selection pressures," Scott said. "Next it will be critical to field-test practical interventions designed to effectively manage antibiotic resistance levels in production, as well as near-slaughter phases of beef and dairy cattle systems."

Scientifically proven interventions will be shared with interested parties and decision makers in the cattle industry, who will be encouraged to further evaluate those methods in their production systems, Scott said. Decision makers also will be warned of ineffective interventions.

The ultimate goal of the project is to come up with solutions that can be used quickly and effectively industry-wide, he added.