Diverse [beta]-lactam antibiotic-resistant bacteria and microbial community in milk from mastitic cows

• Published in: Applied microbiology and biotechnology 2021-03, Vol.105 (5), p.2109
• Main Authors: Ma, Zhengxin, Lee, Shinyoung, Fan, Peixin, Zhai, Yuting, Lim, Jaehyun, Galvão, Klibs N, Nelson, Corwin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Beta lactam antibiotics; Control; Dairy cattle; Diseases; Distribution; Dosage and administration; Drug resistance in microorganisms; Drug therapy; Mastitis; Microbial colonies; Milk contamination; Varieties
• ISSN: 0175-7598; 1432-0614
• DOI: 10.1007/s00253-021-11167-4

Intramammary bacterial infection, the most common cause of mastitis, is the most costly disease in dairy cattle in the US and reason for antibiotic usage. Ceftiofur, a third-generation cephalosporin, is generally used to treat such disease, but it has a high treatment failure rate. Though the reason is not known clearly, it is hypothesized that multiple factors are associated with the treatment failure. In this study, we analyzed 169 milk samples from cows with mastitis in two independent dairy farms (Farm A and B) in which 19.4% (Farm A) and 14.3% (Farm B) of the antibiotic treated cows were not cured. The prevalence of cephalosporin-resistant bacteria (CRB) in milk was 72.0% and 42.1% in Farm A and B, respectively. Nineteen and nine bacterial genera were identified in Farm A and B respectively, with the most abundant genus being Staphylococcus (27.1%; Farm A) and Bacillus (63.5%; Farm B). However, no strong relationship between the treatment failure rate and the CRB prevalence was observed. Furthermore, the metagenomic analysis showed no significant differences in the [alpha]- and [beta]-diversities of microbiota in milk samples from cured and uncured cows, suggesting that antibiotic-resistant bacteria were not the sole reason for the antibiotic treatment failure.