Mitigate antibiotic resistance in food animal production systems
Integrate biology, psychology and ecology
The goal for the U.S. food system is to provide our population access to affordable and nutritious food. The goal is balanced with two needs: to ensure that producers thrive and have sustainable systems and animal and public health are protected. For this to work the production system must deliver a sufficient, high quality, and consistent product with few defects. For food animal production systems this means rearing healthy animals and managing input costs. One management tool is the use of antibiotics to treat and prevent disease. While there are benefits to public and animal health from antibiotic use in animal production, the problem of antibiotic resistance continues to be a pressing global issue and one that needs to be addressed in a one health context.
Our over-arching goals for affecting resistance in the food system and on the farm is based on reducing unnecessary selective pressure (antibiotic use) to lower the on farm abundance and diversity of resistant organisms and mitigating the consequences of antibiotic use.
Our over-arching goals for affecting resistance in the food system and on the farm is based on reducing unnecessary selective pressure (antibiotic use) to lower the on farm abundance and diversity of resistant organisms and mitigating the consequences of antibiotic use.
The specific project objectives to affect antibiotic use and mitigation are:
- Describe and evaluate motivation and reward models for livestock care; specifically for managing animal health and treatment to develop strategies for managing work and providing feedback to workers, managers, and consultants responsible for animal health;
- Evaluate use of non-antibiotic alternatives in calf rearing to prevent disease, reduce antibiotic use, and lower prevalence of antibiotic resistant organisms and traits;
- Determine and model the impact of antibiotic use and excreted residues on the ecology of resistance traits and organisms and test mitigation strategies; and
- Develop and evaluate communication approaches based on different media including social networks (real and virtual) to broadcast project results to varied local and national audiences that includes producers, calf care-takers, veterinarians and Extension educators.
Assistance in an Independent Research Project at Bonney Lake High School: The week of January 4, 2016 our Research Supervisor, Russ McClanahan, headed to Bonney Lake High School to assist in an independent research project on E. coli and antibiotic resistance. There he taught the student about E.coli, Kirby Bauer tests, proper handling of fecal samples, and isolation techniques. This information will aid the student’s research in an antibiotic alternatives research project. The student will be presenting her findings at WSU in March 2016.
Calf Care Audit: By the time a treatment decision is made for a young calf, the disease process likely affected its growth potential. This program will highlight the tools and methods for evaluating the critical control points in calf rearing. Presented by Dr. Dale Moore, December 14, 2016: PowerPoint slides with notes.
- Check list
- Audit form
- Heifer goals form
- Dilution procedures for Petri film plating & reading colostrum/milk
- Managing a pasteurizer system for feeding milk to calves (BAMN)
Progressive Dairyman Article: If a little’s good, is more better? Moore, Floren, Sischo in Progressive Dairyman, January 18, 2016.
Ancillary Therapy for Calf Diarrhea: These factsheets are primarily intended for veterinarians, Jan 2018.
- D.M. Short, D.A. Moore, and W.M. Sischo. 2016. A Randomized Clinical Trial Evaluating the Effects of Oligosaccharides on Transfer of Passive Immunity in Neonatal Dairy Calves. J. Vet Intern Med 2016;30:1381-1389.
- H.K. Floren, W.M. Sischo, C. Crudo, and D.A. Moore. 2016. Use of a digital and an optical Brix refractometer to estimate total solids in milk replacer solutions for calves. J. Dairy Sci. 99:7517-7522.
- Moore, D.A., Olson, A., Adams-Progar, A., Berge, A.C.B., and Sischo, W.M. 2015. Do we really know how dairy treaters make decisions on which calf to treat? American Association of Bovine Practitioners 2015 Conference, New Orleans, LA.
- William M Sischo, Diana M Short, Mareen Geissler, Apichaya Bunyatratchata, and Daniela Barile. 2017. Comparative composition, diversity, and abundance of oligosaccharides in early lactation milk from commercial dairy and beef cows. doi: 10.3168/J. Dairy Science 100:1-10 (Article in Press)
Lead Project Director (PD):
Bill Sischo: Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health & Food and Waterborne Disease Research Program, Washington State University
Co-PDs:
Daniela Barile: Department of Food Science & Technology, Barile Lab, UC Davis
Doug Call: Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health & Food and Waterborne Disease Research Program, Washington State University
Margaret Davis: Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health & Food and Waterborne Disease Research Program, Washington State University
Joyce Ehrlinger: Department of Psychology, Washington State University
Dale Moore: Veterinary Medicine Extension, Continuing Veterinary Medical Education, Washington State University
John Wenz: Field Disease Investigation Unit, Washington State University
Contributors:
Wilson Readinger: Cognitivity Research Applied Cognitive Science