Presence of Antibiotic Residues and Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria in Cattle Manure Intended for Fertilization of Agricultural Fields: A One Health Perspective
Judith Huygens,
Els Daeseleire,
Jacques Mahillon,
Daan Van Elst,
Johan Decrop,
Jurgen Meirlaen,
Jeroen Dewulf,
Marc Heyndrickx,
Geertrui Rasschaert
Affiliations
Judith Huygens
Technology and Food Science Unit, Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO), Brusselsesteenweg 370, 9090 Melle, Belgium
Els Daeseleire
Technology and Food Science Unit, Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO), Brusselsesteenweg 370, 9090 Melle, Belgium
Jacques Mahillon
Laboratory of Food and Environmental Microbiology, Earth and Life Institute, UCLouvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Daan Van Elst
Technology and Food Science Unit, Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO), Brusselsesteenweg 370, 9090 Melle, Belgium
Johan Decrop
Flemish Land Agency (VLM), Manure Bank, Enforcement Nitrate Directive, 1210 Brussel, Belgium
Jurgen Meirlaen
Department of Water Reporting, Flemish Environmental Agency (VMM), 9300 Aalst, Belgium
Jeroen Dewulf
Department of Reproduction, Obstetrics and Herd Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium
Marc Heyndrickx
Technology and Food Science Unit, Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO), Brusselsesteenweg 370, 9090 Melle, Belgium
Geertrui Rasschaert
Technology and Food Science Unit, Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO), Brusselsesteenweg 370, 9090 Melle, Belgium
Antibiotic resistant bacteria and antibiotic residues can enter the environment when using animal manure as fertilizer. Twenty-five mixed beef cattle farmyard manure samples and 9 mixed fattening calf slurry samples from different farms across Belgium were investigated for the presence of 69 antibiotic residues, antibiotic resistant Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. Doxycycline, oxytetracycline, ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, flumequine and lincomycin were detected in all fattening calf slurry samples with mean concentrations of 2776, 4078, 48, 31, 536 and 36 µg/kg manure, respectively. Sulfadiazine was detected at a mean concentration of 10,895 µg/kg. Further, antibiotic residues were found in only 4 of the 25 beef cattle farmyard manure samples. Oxytetracycline was detected twice below 500 µg/kg. Paromomycin, ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin were detected in a concentration below 100 µg/kg. Of E. coli isolates, 88% and 23% from fattening calf slurry and beef cattle farmyard manure, respectively, were resistant to at least one of the antibiotics tested. Multi-drug resistance was observed at a maximum of 10 and 7 antibiotics, respectively. The occurrence of antibiotic resistant E. coli and antibiotic residues is shown to be higher in fattening calf slurry than in beef cattle farmyard manure used for agricultural field fertilization.
