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ARS Home » Plains Area » College Station, Texas » Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center » Food and Feed Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #318720
Title: Salmonella prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility among dairy farm environmental samples collected in Texas

Author
item RODRIGUEZ-RIVERA, LORRAINE - Texas A&M University
item CUMMINGS, KEVIN - Texas A&M University
item LONERAGAN, GUY - Texas Tech University
item RANKIN, SHELLEY - University Of Pennsylvania
item HANSON, DEVIN - Texas Tech University
item LEONE, WILLIAM - Texas A&M University
item Edrington, Thomas

Submitted to: Foodborne Pathogens and Disease
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/1/2016
Publication Date: 4/13/2016
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/62650
Citation: Rodriguez-Rivera, L.D., Cummings, K.J., Loneragan, G.H., Rankin, S.C., Hanson, D.L., Leone, W.M., Edrington, T.S. 2016. Salmonella prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility among dairy farm environmental samples collected in Texas. Foodborne Pathogens and Disease. 13(4):205-211.

Interpretive Summary: Dairy cattle may contain the bacteria Salmonella that can make people sick. Samples were collected from different locations and from cull cows on 11 dairies and cultured for Salmonella. Salmonella was recovered from a significant number of the samples (over 60%). The maternity pen, where cows give birth, was more likely to have Salmonella present than other locations. A portion of the recovered Salmonella was resistant to antibiotics. This work will be beneficial to researchers as they seek new approaches to animal husbandry that will minimize colonization of livestock by food poisoning bacteria.

Technical Abstract: Dairy cattle are a reservoir of several Salmonella serovars that are leading causes of human salmonellosis. The objectives of this study were to determine the environmental prevalence of Salmonella on dairy farms in Texas and to characterize the antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates. Eleven dairy farms throughout Texas were sampled from August to October 2013 using a cross-sectional approach. Samples were collected from four locations within each farm (hospital pen, maternity pen, cow housing area, and calf housing area), and feces were collected from cull cows as available. Environmental and fecal samples were processed for Salmonella, and isolates were tested for susceptibility to 15 antimicrobial agents. Serovar characterization was performed on a subset of these isolates. Salmonella was isolated from 67.0% of the environmental samples (236/352) and 64.2% (43/67) of the cull cow fecal samples. Environmental samples from the maternity pen were significantly more likely to be Salmonella-positive than samples from other locations. Multidrug resistance was evident in 11.9% (27/226) of environmental isolates and 19.5% (8/41) of fecal isolates. Salmonella isolates from the calf housing area and maternity pen were significantly more likely to be multidrug-resistant than isolates from other locations. The most common serovars found among the multidrug-resistant isolates were Newport, Muenchen, and Typhimurium. These results help provide a focus for efforts to mitigate the burden of antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella at the pre-harvest level.