The impact of intensive livestock production on the disease ecology of antibiotic resistant staphylococcus

该项目将探索集约化畜牧业生产实践是否有助于耐多药葡萄球菌的演变和日益流行，包括耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌(MRSA)。利用葡萄球菌的实地研究和基因分型，将建立牲畜相关MRSA的出现和传播原则，并将开发模型，以探索食用动物生产系统、环境、工人和社区之间的传播。该项目将建立在与北卡罗来纳州农村社区团体现有伙伴关系的基础上，并建立对促进全球关于MRSA的科学知识非常重要的协议和数据库。在本研究期间开发的模型将有助于根据操作实践(例如，抗生素使用、动物密度、废物管理系统)估计MRSA从农场转移到周围生态系统和社区的可能性。模型的产出还有助于确定减少耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌向生态系统和社区转移的最有效干预措施。最终，这些结果将有助于评估现代畜牧生产系统是否影响抗生素耐药细菌的出现，并将为可能影响MRSA和其他抗生素耐药细菌生态的管理做法提供重要的新见解。

This project will explore whether intensive livestock production practices contribute to the evolution and increasing prevalence of multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus, including methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Using field studies and genetic typing of Staphylococcus bacteria, principles for the emergence and dissemination of livestock-associated MRSA will be established, and models will be developed to explore transmission between food animal production systems, the environment, workers and communities. This project will build on existing partnerships with community groups in rural North Carolina and establish protocols and databases important for advancement of global scientific knowledge about MRSA.Models developed during this research will be useful to estimate the probability of transfer of MRSA from a farm into surrounding ecosystems and communities based on operational practices (e.g., antibiotic use, animal density, waste management systems). Outputs from the models could also help identify the most effective interventions to reduce transfer of MRSA into ecosystems and communities. Ultimately, these results will help evaluate whether modern livestock production systems affect the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria, and will provide important new insights into management practices that could impact the ecology of MRSA and other antibiotic resistant bacteria.