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<p>The long-term goals of this project are</p><p><ol><li> to expand our understanding of the practices in the poultry production system that increase the selection of antibiotic resistant bacteria and </li><li> to develop multi-disciplinary extension and outreach programs within the poultry industry that deliver efficacious and cost-effective targeted interventions for reducing antibiotic resistance. Broiler production in the U.S. is an integrated system of production modules, from replacement of the breeders to the laying and hatching of eggs to the placement of the broiler chicks to processing. Strains of specific Salmonella and E. coli are known to flow downstream from one production module to the next. Pressures that select for resistance, both antibiotic and non-antibiotic, are present in every module. A successful program for mitigating resistance must address the consequences of interventions in all phases of production and must enable all stakeholders, especially producers, to evaluate the tradeoffs of implementing a specific mitigation strategy. Therefore, the Specific Objectives of this project are:</p><p>Specific Objectives and Approaches:</p><ol><li>Evaluate the evidence for specific disease management approaches in the broiler production system. We will perform formal, rigorous systematic reviews to examine the scientific basis for efficacy and impact of hatchery antibiotic administration and for approaches to NE management and control in the absence of AGP.</li><li> Quantify the effect of antibiotic administration in the hatchery and broiler farm on the selection of antibiotic resistance. We will use experimental trials to examine the ability of commonly used antibiotics in broiler production to select for resistant Salmonella and E. coli and overall resistance genes.</li><li> Associate farm-specific practices, such as the use of antibiotic and non-antibiotic compounds, with farm-specific antimicrobial resistance patterns in Salmonella. We will leverage the data that we are collecting through the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) and our collaborations with committed industry partners to link samples from breeder flocks, hatchery and broiler growout flocks with farm practices identified in surveys of the broiler industry.</li><li> Develop tools for predicting efficacy, cost-effectiveness and consequences of antimicrobial resistance mitigation strategies. This extension-based objective will build a dynamic simulation model of the broiler production system that estimates the expected reduction in the resistant subpopulations of Salmonella and E. coli on-farm and on the final product, enabling producers and other stakeholders to compare the efficacy and cost of different strategies for mitigating antibiotic resistance.</li><li> Deliver intervention options for reducing antimicrobial resistant Salmonella and E. coli to broiler producers through a diversity of extension and outreach activities. We will disseminate customizable mitigation strategy programs to broiler producers and other stakeholders using our industry, consumer advocacy, and government collaborators.</li></ol></p>
<p>We will conduct systematic reviews of key questions within this area. High quality systematic reviews are increasingly becoming indispensable in forming the basis of evidence-based clinical management decisions. Similarly, the systematic reviews proposed here will aid in selection of management practices that improve poultry health, minimize resistance, and ensure that antibiotics are used minimally and responsibly. We will conduct field trials to evaluate the importance of specific selection pressures on antibiotic resistance within the poultry production system. The data will be analyzed with a novel network model. This model allows us to quantify the strength that each treatment has on selecting for resistance. We will generate estimates of significant associations (including their uncertainty) between predictors such as treatment and the resistance under study. We will conduct surveys of the industry about the ways in which antibiotics are being used. We will have matched samples from the farms participating in the surveys. We will be able to assess whether early selective bottlenecks (e.g. hatchery antibiotics) produce lasting effects that persist to the end of the production cycle (i.e. at slaughter).We will build systems dynamics models to enable long-term predictions about changes in resistance following changes in production. This model will have a user-friendly interface to allow stakeholders to assess specific situations in their system. The twin objectives of any Outreach and Extension program are to increase knowledge and change behaviors of the target populations. The specific measures for evaluating these programs will be determined in consultation with the Advisory Board to ensure that they reflect meaningful changes in industry practices. Pending development of these metrics, the generalizable expected results and outcomes of the Outreach and Extension activities include:· Exposure of the results, recommendations and tools to broiler industry veterinarians;· Statistically meaningful change in awareness of the degree to which current industry practices contribute to the selection for antibiotic resistance;· Significant portion of those who participate in the programs making one or more changes in their regular practices to minimize their contribution to antibiotic resistance.</p>