Incidence of Multi-Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria in Farm Soil and Manure from Wisconsin and Minnesota Farms

Abstract

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are becoming increasingly more common and deadly. Most of the antibiotics produced are used in the agriculture industry; particularly as feed additive to prevent disease and increase animal weight. Bacteria that become resistant to antibiotics on farms are then spread to other environments like water, soil, and produce. When people are exposed to these environments, they may become infected by antibiotic-resistant bacteria which will then complicate successful treatment. We surveyed six different farms to determine the incidence and variety of antibiotic-resistant bacteria found on farms. We tested for resistance to erythromycin (20μg/mL), vancomycin (10μg/mL), tetracycline (20μg/mL), oxacillin (5μg/mL), and kanamycin (20μg/mL). Resistant isolates were further analyzed using Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MIC) to determine if they are multi-resistant strains.