Cattle farming practices and the emergence of Escherichia coli O157 (Stx2a+): an international workshop award with INTA Argentina
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Edinburgh
Department Name: The Roslin Institute
Abstract
Argentina
| Description | The workshop held on 14th-17th March 2023 in Rafaela, Argentina to exchange information on E. coli O157 research and epidemiology between Argentina, UK and USA with a specific focus on two areas: (1) how farming practices may be driving selection of Stx2a+ E. coli O157 strains; (2) interventions to control E. coli O157 at the farm level. Funding for the workshop was originally provided in 2019 by the UK BBSRC (£9,100) but the pandemic meant the workshop was postponed on several occasions. Costs of flights had more or less doubled since 2019, so the invitation list of the workshop was curtailed although an extra £4K for travel was provided by a BBSRC international partnering award to the Roslin Institute. The workshop ran over three days and a brief summary of the individual sessions and farm visits can be provided in a separate report. Main working hypothesis discussed was that intensification of cattle farming, especially feedlots systems and grain diets have led to selection of highly transmissible strains that could be more of a threat to human health. 1. The INTA farm vets had arranged a visit to a Feedlot: AL Merced, Cuatro Lunas S.A. that has approximately 5,000 finishing steers. The group was given a tour of the feedlot covering the breeds, environment (space, organisation), feed/rations, water, waste disposal, re-stocking and disease control. The visit really allowed consideration of E. coli O157 epidemiology within the unit. The included how 'closed' the system was as nearly all the waste, following drying and basic treatment, is used on crops surrounding the feedlot that in turn are used to feed the cattle. 2. The INTA vets had also arranged a visit to the nearby INTA farm to look at the set-up of a dairy unit with an automatic milking facility. This provided a clear contrast with the beef cattle site of the previous day. |
| Exploitation Route | This international workshop was to strengthen our collaborative science and enable consideration of joint applications under international programmes such as NSF-BBSRC 'Ecology of Infectious Diseases' and the yearly National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)-USDA calls. I think the primary 'win' was information exchange around a topic that is important for the different counties and provides a reminder of all the work that has been carried out to understand the organism and the issues bringing effective interventions to fruition. |
| Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink |
| Description | The main impact was information exchange about E. coli O157 and it's epidemiology on farms. The attendees for the workshop are listed below and so represent the key organisations that shared the information of issues and attempted interventions to date: Attendees: Angel Cataldi Instituto Nacional De Technologia Agropecuaria (INTA) Mariano Larzabal Instituto de Biotecnología-IABIMO Nahuel Riviere Instituto de Biotecnología-IABIMO Ariel Amadio Instituto de Investigaciones de la Cadena Láctea (IDICAL) Ma Florencia Eberhardt IDICAL Matías Irazoqui IDICAL Gonzalo Santiago IDICAL Marcelo Signorini IDICAL Flavia Sacerdotti F. Med UBA Padola Noralía National University of the Center of the Buenos Aires Province, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias - CIVETAN Paula Lucchesi CIVETAN Juan Micheloud IIACS Daniel Vilte IPVet Alejandro Abdala INTA EEA Rafaela Luís Rhades INTA EEA Anguil Marina Palermo Instituto de Medicina Experimental (IMEX)-CONICET Romina Fernández Brando IMEX-CONICET Ariel Pereda INTA, National Coordinator of Animal Health David Gally Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh Tom McNeilly The Moredun Research Institute Stephen Fitzgerald The Moredun Research Institute Lauren Cowley University of Bath James Bono, ARS, USDA, Nebraska |
| First Year Of Impact | 2023 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink |
| Impact Types | Cultural Policy & public services |
| Description | Precision bacteriophage identification through machine learning for mitigating persistent colonization of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 in cattle |
| Amount | $365,900 (USD) |
| Organisation | U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA |
| Department | National Institute for Food and Agriculture |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United States |
| Start | 03/2021 |
| End | 03/2023 |