Developing a Model Protocol for Tracking Antibiotic Use and AMR Monitoring Across a Large-Scale Commercial Swine Production System: The IMAGINE Project

Antibiotic use (AMU) in livestock is often implicated to be a source of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in humans, despite a lack of data to support the hypothesis. This project is the first attempt to conduct AMR monitoring across a large-scale swine production system in the US and compare AMR in swine and public health pathogens with its respective on-farm antibiotic use. To gain insight into this critical issue, Pipestone has partnered with USDA National Animal Health Monitoring System and South Dakota State University, with support from the National Pork Board and the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research's International Consortium on Antimicrobial Stewardship in Agriculture. As of this writing, the project is in its third year and its objectives are as follows: 1. To conduct antimicrobial resistance (AMR) monitoring across pathogens of veterinary importance and food safety importance across a large-scale commercial swine production system. 2. To compare AMR data with antibiotic use (AMU) data across study farms. 3. To develop and validate a model protocol of AMR monitoring for the US swine industry. To better understand the relationship between AMU and AMR, the US swine industry must collect accurate data at the level of the farm. This project is the first attempt to accomplish this goal and the first set of observations are promising. We will share data from years 1 and 2 and our vision for the future of the project.