Antimicrobial Resistant E. coli from Surface Waters in Southwest Ontario Dairy Farms

What is it about?

Some dairy farmers rely on surface waters for their operations. However, surface waters require treatment to remove contaminant such as bacteria for milk safety and the dairy cow’s health. On farms, bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, can infiltrate into water sources from animal housing, silage, milk parlor, slurry or manure storage tank through surface runoff or leaching from field drains and ditches. To verify their bacteriological quality including potential presence of antimicrobial resistant bacteria such as Escherichia coli, this study investigates -234 samples from untreated surface water sources for 15 farms located in the southwestern Ontario. This study confirmed that untreated surface water sources contained numerous types of bacteria including antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli which could be circulated in the production environment. The presence of potential harmful bacteria in surface water sources supports the implementation of efficient water treatments before its use in dairy farm operations.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

This study showed that untreated surface water sources contained antimicrobial-resistant E. coli, which may serve as a reservoir of AMR that could be disseminated through horizontal gene transfer. This is another reason why effective water treatment prior to usage should routinely be done on dairy farm operations.

Perspectives