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Turcotte C, Thibodeau A, Quessy S, Topp E, Beauchamp G, Fravalo P, Archambault M, Gaucher ML. Impacts of Short-Term Antibiotic Withdrawal and Long-Term Judicious Antibiotic Use on Resistance Gene Abundance and Cecal Microbiota Composition on Commercial Broiler Chicken Farms in Québec. Front Vet Sci 2020; 7:547181. [PMID: 33409294 PMCID: PMC7779680 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2020.547181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2020] [Accepted: 11/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The ever-increasing problem of antibiotic resistance makes routine use of antibiotics in animal production no longer considered as a reasonable and viable practice. The Chicken Farmers of Canada have developed and are implementing an Antimicrobial Use Reduction Strategy, which has the ultimate goal of eliminating the preventive use of medically important antibiotics in broiler chicken and turkey production. However, very little is known about the real overall impact of an antibiotic use reduction strategy in complex ecosystems, such as the bird intestine or the commercial broiler chicken farm. The main objectives of the present study were to compare the abundance of antibiotic resistance-encoding genes, characterize the intestinal microbiota composition, and evaluate the presence of Clostridium perfringens, in six commercial poultry farms adopting short-term antibiotic withdrawal and long-term judicious use strategy. Implementing an antibiotic-free program over a 15-months period did not reduce the abundance of many antibiotic resistance-encoding genes, whereas the judicious use of antibiotics over 6 years was found effective. The short-term antibiotic withdrawal and the long-term judicious use strategy altered the intestinal microbiota composition, with the Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae families being negatively impacted. These findings are in agreement with the lower production performance and with the increased C. perfringens populations observed for farms phasing out the use of antibiotics. Adopting a conventional rearing program on commercial broiler chicken farms selected for specific antibiotic resistance-encoding genes in many barns. This study highlights the potential impacts of different rearing programs in poultry production and will help guide future policies in order to reduce the use of antibiotics while maintaining production performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine Turcotte
- Research Chair in Meat Safety, Département de Pathologie et Microbiologie, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC, Canada
| | - Alexandre Thibodeau
- Research Chair in Meat Safety, Département de Pathologie et Microbiologie, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC, Canada
| | - Sylvain Quessy
- Research Chair in Meat Safety, Département de Pathologie et Microbiologie, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC, Canada
| | - Edward Topp
- London Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, London, ON, Canada
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Guy Beauchamp
- Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC, Canada
| | - Philippe Fravalo
- Research Chair in Meat Safety, Département de Pathologie et Microbiologie, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC, Canada
- Pôle Agroalimentaire du Cnam, Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, Paris, France
| | - Marie Archambault
- Swine and Poultry Infectious Diseases Research Centre, Département de Pathologie et Microbiologie, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC, Canada
| | - Marie-Lou Gaucher
- Research Chair in Meat Safety, Département de Pathologie et Microbiologie, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC, Canada
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Bakken JS. Staggered and tapered antibiotic withdrawal with administration of kefir for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection. Clin Infect Dis 2014; 59:858-61. [PMID: 24917658 DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciu429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Daily administration of the probiotic kefir given in combination with a staggered and tapered antibiotic withdrawal regimen may resolve recurrent Clostridium difficile infection as effectively as fecal microbiota transplantation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johan S Bakken
- Section of Infectious Disease, St Luke's Hospital, Duluth, Minnesota
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