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Antimicrobial stewardship and its impact on antimicrobial use, antimicrobial resistance, and animal health on dairy farms

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Project Overview

This research project addressed the critical challenge of antimicrobial use and resistance. Researchers developed a national surveillance program, the Canadian Dairy Network of Antimicrobial Stewardship and Resistance (CaDNetASR), to measure antimicrobial use and resistance on Canadian dairy farms and to guide effective antimicrobial stewardship practices.

What Did the Research Team Do?

Developed and implemented a surveillance framework, the CaDNetASR, in partnership with six Canadian universities, veterinary epidemiologists from the Public Health Agency of Canada, and stakeholders from provincial and national organizations. To ensure its long-term sustainability, CaDNetASR was developed as a component of an existing government surveillance system, the Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (CIPARS). 

144 dairy farms from 5 provinces participating in the study were visited annually for 5 years starting in 2019 to collect antimicrobial treatment records from electronic herd management software or paper-based records. The project focused on quantifying herd-level antimicrobial use and detecting herd-level antimicrobial resistance. In order to quantify antimicrobial usage in dairy farms, an automated system was developed, the garbage can audit. 

What Did the Research Team Find?

  • When comparing antimicrobial use across CaDNetASR farms, researchers saw a high amount of variability regardless of differences in disease incidence. This finding suggests there is an opportunity to strategically reduce antimicrobial use on some Canadian dairy farms.
  • The surveillance system detected antimicrobial resistance in the three pathogens analyzed during the project through fecal samples, i.e., E. coli (generic strain), Campylobacter spp., and Salmonella spp, three bacteria commonly found on dairy farms. The highest proportions of resistant isolates were observed for Tetracycline for each pathogen.
  • The majority of antimicrobial treatments in calves were related to respiratory disease and there was tremendous variability in the amount of antimicrobials used on different farms.
  • There is growing evidence highlighting the importance of transition milk after colostrum feeding.
  • Development of an automated approach to determine antimicrobial use for the dairy producers and their herd veterinarians.
  • What can dairy farms do to reduce antimicrobial use:
    • Use a protocol for selective treatment of non-severe cases of clinical mastitis;
    • Use a protocol for selective dry cow therapy. Selective dry cow therapy avoids treating every cow at dry off with a long-acting antimicrobial; and
    • Work with your veterinarian to improve calf health management to limit disease and ultimately reduce antimicrobial use on your farm.

**Scroll down for project communication outputs**

Principal Investigators

Javier Sanchez
University of Prince Edward Island

Luke Heider
University of Prince Edward Island

Co-Investigators

J Trenton McClure
University of Prince Edward Island

Greg Keefe
University of Prince Edward Island

Kapil Tahlan
Memorial University of Newfoundland

Simon Dufour
Université de Montréal

David Kelton
University of Guelph

Christopher Luby
University of Saskatchewan

David Leger
Public Health Agency of Canada

Herman Barkema
University of Calgary

Key Words

  • Antimicrobial stewardship, antimicrobial resistance, surveillance

Period: 2018-2023
Budget: $1,582,087

Last Updated: January 17, 2024

Funding Partners

Note: As per the research agreement, aside from providing financial support, the funders have no decision-making role in the conduct of the studies, data collection, and analysis or interpretation of the data. Researchers are independent in conducting their studies, own their data, and report the outcomes regardless of the results. The decision to publish the results rests entirely with the researchers.

PROJECT COMMUNICATION OUTPUTS

Antimicrobial Stewardship and Udder Health on Dairy Farms

INFOGRAPHIC

Antimicrobial Stewardship and Udder Health on Dairy Farms

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Antimicrobial Use in Calves on Dairy Farms

INFOGRAPHIC

Antimicrobial Use in Calves on Dairy Farms

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Antimicrobial use on Canadian dairy farms

TRADE PUBLICATION

Antimicrobial use on Canadian dairy farms

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WEBINAR

Surveillance in Action: Canadian Dairy Network of Antimicrobial Stewardship & Resistance

Surveillance in Action: Canadian Dairy Network of Antimicrobial Stewardship & Resistance

PROJECT PUBLICATIONS

  • Fonseca, M., Heider, L.C., Stryhn, H., McClure, JT., Léger, D., Rizzo, D., Dufour, S., Roy, J.-P., Kelton,5 D.F., Renaud, D.L., Barkema, H.W., Sanchez, J. 2023.  Frequency of isolation and phenotypic antimicrobial resistance of fecal Salmonella enterica recovered from dairy cattle in Canada. J. Dairy Sci. 107(4): 2357-2373.  https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2023-23937  

  • Fonseca, M., Heider, L.C., Stryhn, H., McClure, J.T., Léger, D., Rizzo, D., Warder, L., Dufour, S., Roy, J.P., Kelton, D.F., Renaud, D. 2023. Antimicrobial use and its association with the isolation of and antimicrobial resistance in Campylobacter spp. recovered from fecal samples from Canadian dairy herds: A cross-sectional study. Prev. Vet. Med. 215: 105925. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2023.105925 

  • de Jong, E., McCubbin, K.D., Uyama, T., Brummelhuis, C., Bodaneze, J., Kelton, D.F., Dufour, S., Sanchez, J., Roy, J.P., Heider, L.C., Rizzo, D. 2023. Adoption and decision factors regarding selective treatment of clinical mastitis on Canadian dairy farms. J. Dairy Sci. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2023-23608

  • de Jong, E., McCubbin, K.D., Speksnijder, D., Dufour, S., Middleton, J.R., Ruegg, P.L., Lam, T.J., Kelton, D.F., McDougall, S., Godden, S.M., Lago, A. 2023. Invited review: Selective treatment of clinical mastitis in dairy cattle. J.Dairy Sci. 106(6) : 3761-3778
    .https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2022-22826 

  • de Jong, E., Creytens, L., De Vliegher, S.,  McCubbin, K.D., Baptiste, M., Leung, A.A., Speksnijder, D., Dufour, S., Middleton, J.R., Ruegg, P.L., Lam, T.J.G.M., Kelton, D.F., McDougall, S., Godden, S.M., Lago, A., Rajala-Schultz, P.J., Orsel, K., Krömker, V., Kastelic, J.P., Barkema, H.W. 2023. Selective treatment of nonsevere clinical mastitis does not adversely affect cure, somatic cell count, milk yield, recurrence, or culling: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Dairy Sci. 106: 1267-1286. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2022-22271

  • McCubbin, K.D., de Jong, E., Brummelhuis, C.M., Bodaneze, J., Biesheuvel, M., Kelton, D.F., Uyama, T., Dufour, S., Sanchez, J., Rizzo, D., Léger, D. 2023. Antimicrobial and teat sealant use and selection criteria at dry-off on Canadian dairy farms. Journal of Dairy Science. 106(10): 7104-7116. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2022-23083 

  • Warder, L.M., Heider, L.C., Léger, D.F., Rizzo, D., McClure, J.T., de Jong, E., McCubbin, K.D., Uyama, T., Fonseca, M., Jaramillo, A.S., Kelton, D.F. 2023. Quantifying antimicrobial use on Canadian dairy farms using garbage can audits. Front. Vet. Sci. 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2023.1185628

  • McCubbin, K.D., de Jong, E., Lam, T.J., Kelton, D.F., Middleton, J.R., McDougall, S., De Vliegher, S., Godden, S., Rajala-Schultz, P.J., Rowe, S., Speksnijder, D.C. 2022. Invited review: Selective use of antimicrobials in dairy cattle at drying-off. J. Dairy Sci. 105(9): 7161-7189 https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2021-21455 

  • Uyama, T., Kelton, D.F., Morrison, E.I., de Jong, E., McCubbin, K.D., Barkema, H.W., Dufour, S., Sanchez, J., Heider, L.C., LeBlanc, S.J., Winder, C.B., McClure, J.T., Renaud, D.L. 2022. Cross-sectional study of antimicrobial use and treatment decision for preweaning Canadian dairy calves. JDS Communications 3: 72-77. https://doi.org/10.3168/jdsc.2021-0161

  • Uyama, T., Kelton, D.F., Winder, C.B., Dunn, J., Goetz, H.M., LeBlanc, S.J., McClure, J.T., Renaud, D.L. 2022. Colostrum management practices that improve the transfer of passive immunity in neonatal dairy calves: A scoping review. PLoS One. 17(6): e0269824. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269824 

  • Uyama, T., Renaud, D.L., Morrison, E.I., McClure, J.T., LeBlanc, S.J., Winder, C.B., de Jong, E., McCubbin, K.D., Barkema, H.W., Dufour, S., Sanchez, J., Heider, L.C., Kelton, D.F. 2022. Associations of calf management practices with antimicrobial use in Canadian dairy calves. J. Dairy Sci. 105: 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2022-22299 

  • Fonseca , M., Heider, L.C., Léger, D., Mcclure, J.T., Rizzo, D., Dufour, S., Kelton, D.F., Renaud, D., Barkema, H.W., Sanchez J. 2022. Canadian Dairy Network for Antimicrobial Stewardship and Resistance (CaDNetASR): An On-Farm Surveillance System. Front. Vet. Sci. 8: 799622. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2021.799622