Detection of extended-spectrum ß-lactam, AmpC and carbapenem resistance in Enterobacteriaceae in beef cattle in Great Britain in 2015.

AIMS: This study investigated the occurrence and genetic diversity of Enterobacteriaceae with extended-spectrum ß-lactamase (ESBL)-, AmpC- and carbapenemase-mediated resistance in British beef cattle, and related risk factors. METHODS AND RESULTS: Faecal samples (n = 776) were obtained from farms in England and Wales (n = 20) and Scotland (n = 20) in 2015. Isolates from selective agars were identified by MALDI ToF mass spectrometry. Selected isolates were characterized by multiplex PCR (blaCTX -M, blaOXA , blaSHV and blaTEM genes), whole-genome sequencing (WGS), minimum inhibitory concentrations and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. None of the faecal samples yielded carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli. Ten (25%) of the farms tested positive for ESBL-producing CTX-M Enterobacteriaceae, 15 (37·5%) of the farms were positive for AmpC phenotype E. coli and none were positive for carbapenem-resistant E. coli. WGS showed a total of 30 different resistance genes associated with E. coli, Citrobacter and Serratia from ESBL agars, and colocation of resistance genes with blaCTX -M1 . Buying bulls and bringing in fattening cattle from another farm were identified as significant risk factors for positive samples harbouring CTX-M Enterobacteriaceae or AmpC phenotype E. coli respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Beef cattle on a proportion of farms in GB carry ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae. Factors, such as operating as a closed herd, may have an important role in reducing introduction and transmission of resistant Enterobacteriaceae. The results indicate management factors may play an important role in impacting ESBL prevalence. In particular, further study would be valuable to understand the impact of maintaining a closed herd on reducing the introduction of resistant Enterobacteriaceae. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This is the first study showing the presence of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae in British beef cattle.

Evaluation of the usefulness at national level of the dairy cattle health and production recording systems in Great Britain.

The aim of this study was to formally evaluate, qualitatively, the ability of existing recording systems to generate accurate and reliable estimates of the frequency of selected health conditions in the dairy herd of Great Britain. Fifty-nine recording systems were identified, of which 36 had their key characteristics defined through a web-based questionnaire. Nineteen of them were further assessed following the SERVAL, a SuRveillance EVALuation framework against a set of 12 attributes: benefit, bias, communication, coverage, data collection, data management, data analysis, data completeness, flexibility, multiple utility, representativeness and stability/sustainability. The evaluated systems showed considerable differences in their coverage, implementation and objectives. There were overlaps in recorded conditions, with Johne's disease, bovine viral diarrhoea, mastitis and lameness being recorded by most of the systems. Selection bias, data ownership and lack of integration of data from different systems appeared to be a key limitation on the future use of existing systems for nationwide monitoring. The results showed that even though the individual systems can provide reliable estimates of dairy health for individual farmers, none of the systems alone could provide accurate and reliable estimates for any of the conditions of interest at national level.