Source: OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY - VET MED submitted to NRP
ENVIRONMENTAL, HUMAN, AND ANIMAL HEALTH RISKS FROM THE DISSEMINATION OF CARBAPENEM-RESISTANT ENTEROBACTERIACEAE INTO AGRICULTURAL WATERSHEDS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1022243
Grant No.
2020-68015-30856
Cumulative Award Amt.
$999,844.00
Proposal No.
2019-06095
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
May 1, 2020
Project End Date
Apr 30, 2026
Grant Year
2020
Program Code
[A1366]- Mitigating Antimicrobial Resistance Across the Food Chain
Recipient Organization
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY - VET MED
1900 COFFEY ROAD, 127L VMAB
COLUMBUS,OH 43210
Performing Department
Veterinary Preventive Medicine
Non Technical Summary
Carbapenems are among our most valuable antibiotics, and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) represent an "urgent" public health threat. We have found that CRE in healthcare are transported in hospital waste to treatment plants where they survive and are discharged into surface waters and accumulate in fish and wildlife. Thus, CRE can be disseminated from surface waters into livestock populations in the broader watershed. There is evidence that frequent cephalosporin use in livestock can amplify CRE. Thus, if CRE were introduced into food animals, they would threaten animal health and production, and could enter the food supply in fresh meat. Therefore, preventing the dissemination of CRE into the environment and livestock is a critically important food-safety intervention. We propose to assess and identify means to mitigate the risk to the food chain that is posed by the dissemination of CRE into agricultural watersheds. Our goal is to understand the risk that CRE environmental dissemination poses to US animal agriculture and inland fisheries. To accomplish this, we propose to: 1. Quantify CRE and carbapenemase genes in wastewater flows, fish populations, and surface waters of agricultural watersheds; 2. Identify transport vectors capable of introducing CRE into agricultural animal populations in the watershed; 3. Monitor for the introduction of CRE into agricultural animal populations; and 4) create a transdisciplinary One Health student training program addressing issues of antimicrobial use, resistance, and stewardship from the human, animal, and environmental health perspectives. This directly addresses two program priorities: (1) The role of commensal organisms in the emergence, spread and selection of AMR in agro-ecosystems; and (2) Identify and establish resources for communicating and dispensing AMR-related curricula, best management practices, and others to combat AMR.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
0%
Applied
100%
Developmental
0%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
3110320110050%
7220320117050%
Knowledge Area
311 - Animal Diseases; 722 - Zoonotic Diseases and Parasites Affecting Humans;

Subject Of Investigation
0320 - Watersheds;

Field Of Science
1100 - Bacteriology; 1170 - Epidemiology;
Goals / Objectives
Our hypothesis is that there is a significant risk to environmental, animal, and human health resulting from the transport of CRE from healthcare waste to wastewater treatment plants where they are discharged into surface waters and become incorporated into downstream natural and agricultural ecosystems in the broader watershed.Our long-term goal is to protect animal agriculture and inland fisheries by preventing the transport and understanding the fate of CRE from human healthcare disseminated in surface water where they pose a direct threat to animal and environmental health, as well as the US food chain.Our specific aim is to assess and identify means to mitigate the risk that CRE environmental dissemination poses to animal agriculture and inland fisheries in the US. In order to accomplish this aim, we propose to complete the following objectives:1. Quantify the presence of CRE and specific carbapenemase genes present in WWTP flows, wild fish populations, and in surface waters of agricultural watersheds.2. Identify and investigate the role of important transport vectors capable of introducing CRE from surface waters into agricultural animal populations in the watershed.3. Monitor for the introduction of CRE into agricultural animal populations using intensive targeted surveillance.4. Create a transdisciplinary One Health student training program addressing issues of antimicrobial use, resistance, and stewardship from the human, animal, and environmental health perspectives.
Project Methods
Our overall approach will be to epidemiologically assess the potential risk posed to the food chain by environmental dissemination of human healthcare associated CRE. We will accomplish this by documenting the incorporation of CRE into surface waters and agricultural operations in the broader watersheds and identifying the mostly likely vehicles, transport vectors, and indicator organisms for introduction of CRE into nearby livestock populations, while conducting intensive targeted surveillance to determine if waterborne CRE have already been introduced into nearby livestock populations. In addition, we will educate undergraduate, graduate, and professional health sciences students about antimicrobial use, resistance, and stewardship from the human, animal, and environmental health perspective as a means to mitigate future risk.

Progress 05/01/24 to 04/30/25

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems:Due to the unfortunate passing of Dr. Sullivan, we have fully transitioned his PI role on this project to Dr. Miren Atristain with the approval of our USDA NIFA program officer. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Multiple undergraduate and graduate (MS and PhD) students have had the opportunity to participate in this project as part of our field sampling teams on farms, in the rivers, and at the wastewater treatment plants. In addition, graduate students have been directly engaged in the laboratory and data analysis and reporting phases of the project. We expect to complete the training of graduate students involved in this project during this final no-cost extension year. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Throughout this final no-cost extension year of the project, we expect to finalize the sequencing and characterization of isolates from agricultural facilities, the rivers, wastewater treatment plants, and wildlife populations as described in our original proposal. We expect to finalize our data analysis, and to fully summarize and report our results in peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? During 2024 we finalize the field sampling component of the project, including farm, wildlife, and environmental sampling. We have collected over 2500 individual field samples from a variety of sources including livestock, wildlife, river water, fish, and wastewater influent and effluent as described in the proposal. We recovered carbapenemase producing isolates from approximately 5% of the samples with the highest frequency of recovery from wastewater influent and fish sampled near wastewater effluent discharge. The majority of the recovered isolates represented the KPC carbapenemase genotype, but the NDM genotype appears to be becoming more common. We have also recovered carbapenemase producing isolates from livestock facilities, but these do not appear to be directly associated with wastewater discharge and environmental dissemination of healthcare associated strains. As we complete the final no-cost extension year of the project, we are now focused on characterization of isolates via sequencing, data analysis, and preparation of reports including scientific manuscripts.

Publications


    Progress 05/01/23 to 04/30/24

    Outputs
    Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems:Due to the unfortunate passing of Dr. Sullivan, we have transitioned his PI role on this project toDr. Miren Atristain with the approval of our USDA program officer. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Multiple MS and PhD students have had the opportunity to participate in this project as part of our field sampling teams on farms, in the rivers, and at the wastewater treatment plants. We expect to continue to train graduate and undergraduate students as part of this project going forward. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Throughout 2024we expect to finalizethe field samping at agricultural facilities, in the rivers, at wastewater treatment plants, and in wildlife populations as described in our original proposal. We expect to transition to finalizing the characterization of isolates and analyzing, summarizing, and reporting our results.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? During 2023we made significant progress in finalizing the field sampling component of the project. We have collected over 1500 individual field samples from a variety of sources including livestock, wildlife, river water, fish, and wastewater influent and effluent as described in the proposal. We recovered carbapenemase producting isolates from approximately 5% of the samples with the highest frequency of recovery from wastewater influent and fish sampled near wastewater effluent discharge. The majority of the recovered isolates represented the KPC carbapenemase genotype, but the NDM genotype appears to be becoming more common. As we approach the final year of the project, we are transitioning from field sampling to isolate characterization and data analysis.

    Publications


      Progress 05/01/22 to 04/30/23

      Outputs
      Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Multiple MS and PhD students have had the opportunity to participate in this project as part of our field sampling teams on farms, in the rivers, and at the wastewater treatment plants. We expect to continue to train graduate and undergraduate students as part of this project going forward. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Throughout 2023we expect to continue our focus on the field samping at agricultural facilities, in the rivers, at wastewater treatment plants, and in wildlife populations as described in our original proposal. We have been somewhat delayed in our sampling due to earlier COVID lab shutdown, but we are now on track to complete field sampling in a timely manner that will allow us to fully meet the objectives of the study.

      Impacts
      What was accomplished under these goals? During 2022we made significant progress in the field sampling component of the project. We collected over1000 individual field samples from a variety of sources including livestock, wildlife, river water, fish, and wastewater influent and effluent as described in the proposal. We recovered carbapenemase producting isolates from approximately 5% of the samples with the highest frequency of recovery from wastewater influent and fish sampled near wastewater effluent discharge. The majority of the recovered isolates represented the KPC carbapenemase genotype. Additional field sampling as described in the original proposal will continure through 2023.

      Publications


        Progress 05/01/21 to 04/30/22

        Outputs
        Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems:Since we are now past the earlier COVID limitations on research, we can now make appropriate progress on the project to fully meet our objectives. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Multiple MS and PhD students have had the opportunity to participate in this project as part of our field sampling teams on farms, in the rivers, and at the wastewater treatment plants. Weexpect to continue to train graduate and undergraduate students as part of this project going forward. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Throughout2022 we expect to continue our focus on the field samping at agricultural facilities, in the rivers, at wastewater treatment plants, and in wildlife populations as described in our original proposal. We have been somewhat delayed in our sampling due to earlier COVID lab shutdown, but we are now on track to complete field sampling in a timely manner that will allow us to fully meet the objectives of the study.

        Impacts
        What was accomplished under these goals? During 2021 we made significant progress in the field sampling component of the project. We collected approximately 1500 individual field samples from a variety of sources including livestock, wildlife, river water, fish, and wastewater influent and effluent as described in the proposal. Werecovered carbapenemase producting isolates from approximately 6% of the samples with the highest frequency of recovery from wastewater influent and fish sampled near wastewater effluent discharge. The majority of the recovered isolates represented the KPC carbapenemase genotype. Additional field sampling as described in the original proposal will continure through 2022.

        Publications


          Progress 05/01/20 to 04/30/21

          Outputs
          Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems:The major problem was the COVID-19 shutdown of all university laboratories which required us to pospone the initiation of this project. However, we expect to be able to complete all objectives on a somewhat delayed timeline. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period we expect to initiate our field sampling plan as described in the proposal.

          Impacts
          What was accomplished under these goals? Due to the COVID-19 shutdown of our laboaratories during 2020, our field sampling was postponed until 2021.

          Publications