Antimicrobial resistance in indicator Escherichia coli from medium-sized swine herds in North-eastern Thailand ; Antimikrobiell resistens hos indikatorbakterie Escherichia coli på medelstora svinbesättningar i nordöstra Thailand

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a fast growing global threat in several perspectives. In medicine the antimicrobials are crucial in the treatment of some diseases and without the antimicrobials those diseases might be fatal. In veterinary medicine antimicrobials are used as treatment, prevention and growth promoters and without them it would be difficult to handle some diseases which could result in extensive economic losses for the animal owner as well as for the society as a whole, especially in developing countries. Excessive and imprudent use of antibiotics may contribute to the development and dissemination of resistant bacteria and genes. Several studies have shown a risk for dissemination of resistant bacteria from food animals to humans and therefore measures have been taken on national as well as on international levels to curb this progression. One example of such measures is surveillance systems to monitor the resistance pattern of selected microbes regularly. A gained knowledge about the resistance patterns, along with knowledge about resistance mechanisms, makes it possible to adjust regulations and recommendations for antibiotic usage so that less broad-spectrum antibiotics are used in favor for the narrow-spectrum antibiotics or, for that matter, no antibiotics at all. Improvements in preventive management such as good hygiene and biosecurity would also decrease the need for antimicrobials in animals and livestock which would be beneficial in hindering the progression of AMR. This study aims to contribute to the important monitoring and mapping of AMR in livestock. The pig production in Thailand is expanding and an increasing number of large-scaled farms are appearing at the same time as the number of smaller farms decreases. Therefore Thailand was chosen for this study. In this study indicator Escherichia coli was cultured from rectal swabs from healthy sows on 27 medium-sized (100-500 sows) farms in the northeast of Thailand. Samples were collected from three sows at each farm, resulting in 81 ...