In addition to antibiotics, zinc oxide is another antimicrobial substance generally employed in swine production to try to prevent or minimize post-weaning diarrhea. A worrying example was the emergence of an Escherichia coli strain carrying a plasmid-mediated colistin-resistance gene in both people and pigs in China ( 9) and its rapid spread to these and other host species in Europe and North America ( 10– 13). The spread of resistance to antibiotics will probably limit the therapeutic choices and increase morbidity and mortality rates due to porcine or human infections caused by resistant bacteria ( 3). Despite of the EU ban regarding the use of antibiotics as growth promoters, these antimicrobials have been frequently employed in the last years in swine farming as either prophylactic or metaphylactic agents. Swine production is responsible for a high proportion of the antimicrobials used in food animal production ( 6). However, such practice has notably contributed to the emergence and spread of resistant bacteria, both by direct contact with antibiotic-resistant bacteria from livestock or by indirect contact through food, water, and animal waste ( 7, 8). The addition of sub-therapeutic levels of antibiotics in feed or water can improve growth rates by reducing the morbidity and mortality burden associated to bacterial diseases ( 6). Prolonged prophylactic and metaphylactic use of antibiotics is widespread in intensive food animal management systems worldwide as low-cost growth promoters ( 5). It has been suggested that the current “antibiotic resistance crisis” may lead us back to a “pre-antibiotic era” if effective actions to significantly decrease antibiotic use are not undertaken rapidly ( 1– 4). The overuse, abuse and misuse of antibiotics in humans and animals have accelerated the development and spread of resistances. In conclusion, replacement of antimicrobials by a microbiota-friendly approach was feasible and led to positive microbiological and biochemical changes in the enteric environment.ĭuring the last decades, antibiotic-(multi)resistant bacteria have become a global threat for human health. Parallel, an increase in the concentration of butyrate, propionate and acetate was observed and a notable reduction in the presence of antibiotic resistant lactobacilli became apparent. The procedure led to an increase in the concentrations of clostridia and lactobacilli-related bacteria. Feces from 8-week-old piglets were collected before and after the treatment and microbiological and biochemical analyses were performed. The study was carried in a farm in which metaphylactic use of antimicrobials (including zinc oxide) was eliminated at the time of starting the probiotic intervention, which lasted for 2 years.
The objective of this work was the characterization of the probiotic properties of a Ligilactobacillus salivarius strain isolated from sow's milk and its application as an inoculated fermented feed to pregnant sows and piglets. Therefore, alternative approaches must be developed. 4Department of Galenic Pharmacy and Food Technology, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, SpainĪntibiotic use in swine production contributes to the emergence and spread of resistant bacteria, which poses a threat on human health.3Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry, Dairy Research Institute of Asturias, Villaviciosa, Spain.2Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.1Scientific Society of Veterinary Public and Community Health (SOCIVESC), Madrid, Spain.Sobrino 1, Claudio Alba 2, Rebeca Arroyo 2, Inés Pérez 2, Lydia Sariego 3, Susana Delgado 3, Leónides Fernández 4, Julián de María 5, Pilar Fumanal 5, Antonio Fumanal 5 and Juan M.