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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

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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VIDEO: Antimicrobial Use, Resistance and Stewardship 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