Vougat Ngom Ronald, Laconi Andrea, Tolosi Roberta, Akoussa Adonis M M, Ziebe Stephane D, Kouyabe Vincent M, Piccirillo Alessandra
Department of Animal Production, School of Veterinary Medicine and Sciences, University of Ngaoundere, Ngaoundere, Cameroon.
Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padua, Legnaro, Italy.
Front Microbiol. 2025 Jan 15;15:1517159. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1517159. eCollection 2024.
Poultry production accounts for 42% of Cameroonian meat production. However, infectious diseases represent the main hindrance in this sector, resulting in overuse and misuse of antimicrobials that can contribute to the emergence and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) conferring resistance to carbapenems ( and ), (fluoro) quinolones (, , and ), polymyxins ( to ), and macrolides ( and ) in the poultry farm environment. Additionally, the study examined the relationship between these ARGs and biosecurity implementation, as well as farmers' knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward antimicrobial use (AMU) and AMR, including their perception of AMR risk.
Fecal, drinking water, and biofilm samples from drinking water pipelines were collected from 15 poultry farms and subsequently analyzed by real-time PCR and 16S rRNA NGS.
All samples tested positive for genes conferring resistance to (fluoro) quinolones, 97.8% to macrolides, 64.4% to polymyxins, and 11.1% to carbapenems. Of concern, more than half of the samples (64.4%) showed a multi-drug resistance (MDR) pattern (i.e., resistance to ≥3 antimicrobial classes). Drinking water and biofilm microbial communities significantly differed from the one of the fecal samples, both in term of diversity (-diversity) and composition (-diversity). Furthermore, opportunistic pathogens (i.e., Comamonadaceae and Sphingomonadaceae) were among the most abundant bacteria in drinking water and biofilm. The level of biosecurity implementation was intermediate, while the knowledge and attitude of poultry farmers toward AMU were insufficient and unsuitable, respectively. Good practices toward AMU were found to be correlated with a reduction in polymyxins and MDR.
This study provides valuable information on resistance to medically important antimicrobials in poultry production in Cameroon and highlights their potential impact on human and environmental health.
家禽生产占喀麦隆肉类生产的42%。然而，传染病是该行业的主要障碍，导致抗菌药物的过度使用和滥用，这可能会促使抗菌药物耐药性（AMR）的出现和传播。本研究旨在评估在家禽养殖环境中对碳青霉烯类（ 和 ）、（氟）喹诺酮类（ 、 、 和 ）、多粘菌素（ 至 ）以及大环内酯类（ 和 ）具有耐药性的抗菌药物耐药基因（ARGs）的流行情况。此外，该研究还考察了这些ARGs与生物安全措施实施之间的关系，以及养殖户对抗菌药物使用（AMU）和AMR的知识、态度和行为，包括他们对AMR风险的认知。
从15个家禽养殖场采集粪便、饮用水和饮用水管道生物膜样本，随后通过实时PCR和16S rRNA NGS进行分析。
所有样本对（氟）喹诺酮类耐药基因检测呈阳性，对大环内酯类耐药基因的阳性率为97.8%，对多粘菌素耐药基因的阳性率为64.4%，对碳青霉烯类耐药基因的阳性率为11.1%。值得关注的是，超过一半的样本（64.4%）呈现出多重耐药（MDR）模式（即对≥3类抗菌药物耐药）。饮用水和生物膜微生物群落与粪便样本在多样性（ -多样性）和组成（ -多样性）方面均存在显著差异。此外，机会致病菌（即丛毛单胞菌科和鞘脂单胞菌科）是饮用水和生物膜中含量最丰富的细菌之一。生物安全措施的实施水平处于中等，而家禽养殖户对AMU的知识和态度分别不足且不恰当。发现良好的AMU行为与多粘菌素和MDR的减少相关。
本研究提供了有关喀麦隆家禽生产中对医学上重要抗菌药物耐药性的宝贵信息，并强调了它们对人类和环境健康的潜在影响。
