Relations between the consumption of antimicrobial growth promoters and the occurrence of resistance among Enterococcus faecium isolated from broilers

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

The present study investigates, at farm level, the effect of the time-span between sampling and the last time a particular antimicrobial growth promoter (AGP) was included in the feed on the probability of selecting an AGP-resistant Enterococcus faecium isolate from a broiler flock. The probability that a randomly selected E. faecium isolate was resistant to avilamycin, erythromycin or virginiamycin was 0.91, 0.92 and 0.84, respectively if the isolate originated from a broiler flock fed either avilamycin- or virginiamycin-supplemented feed. As the time-span between sampling and the last AGP consumption increased, the probability of isolating an E. faecium isolate resistant to a particular AGP decreased (probability <0.2 within 3-5 years after last exposure to AGPs). The decrease in probability over time showed little farm-to-farm variation. The number of times a particular AGP was given to previous flocks reared in the same house had no effect on the probability of isolating a resistant isolate.

Original languageEnglish
JournalEpidemiology and Infection
Volume132
Issue number1
Pages (from-to)95-105
Number of pages11
ISSN0950-2688
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2004
Externally publishedYes

    Research areas

  • Animal Feed, Animal Husbandry, Animals, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Chickens, Denmark, Drug Administration Schedule, Drug Resistance, Bacterial, Enterococcus faecium, Erythromycin, Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections, Linear Models, Logistic Models, Markov Chains, Microbial Sensitivity Tests, Monte Carlo Method, Oligosaccharides, Poultry Diseases, Time Factors, Vancomycin, Virginiamycin, Journal Article

ID: 172847939