Publications by authors named "Akemi Kojima"

We conducted whole-genome sequencing to investigate the serotypes, the presence of virulence and antimicrobial resistance genes, and the genetic relationships among isolates of Actinobacillus. pleuropneumoniae derived from diseased pigs. Serotype 2 (71.

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To enable future comparison of the antimicrobial susceptibility data between bacteria obtained from animals and humans, it is necessary to compare the relationships between minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of veterinary and human medicine. We evaluated the relationship between the MIC of ceftiofur (CTF) and the MICs of other third-generation cephalosporins (TGCs): cefotaxime (CTX), cefpodoxime (CPDX), and ceftazidime (CAZ), determined by the broth microdilution method using 118 cefazolin-resistant Escherichia coli isolates from food-producing animals. Using the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute criteria, very major classification errors were observed only in CAZ (17.

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To characterize the Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae Met-203 type surface protective antigen (Spa) A strains causing swine erysipelas in Japan, the nucleotide sequence of the hypervariable region of the spaA gene was determined in 80 E. rhusiopathiae (serotype 1a) isolates collected from pigs with chronic and subacute swine erysipelas in 14 prefectures in 2008-2014. In this study, 14 (17.

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Article Synopsis
  • A National Veterinary Assay Laboratory (NVAL) was established to create a reference standard for equine tetanus antitoxin, resulting in 115 quality-tested vials.
  • Three laboratories conducted potency assays on the candidate standard, yielding consistent results between 38 and 42 IU with no significant statistical issues.
  • The final assessment determined the antitoxin potency to be 40 units per 1-mL vial, with these vials officially distributed as the first reference standard for veterinary use in September 2015.
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Fluoroquinolone-resistant Campylobacter jejuni isolates from broilers in Japan were characterized using multilocus sequence typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) in order to elucidate the genetic relationship between these strains. Forty-three of the isolates were classified into 20 sequence types and were clustered into 21 PFGE types with 70% similarity. The most dominant clonal complex (CC) was CC-21 (41.

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Article Synopsis
  • High levels of broad-spectrum cephalosporin (BSC) resistance in E. coli from healthy broilers in Japan prompted a voluntary withdrawal of ceftiofur (CTF) use in hatcheries starting in March 2012.
  • A study analyzing 693 E. coli isolates from 2010 to 2013 showed a significant decrease in BSC-resistant isolates, dropping from 16.4% in 2010 to 4.6% in 2013.
  • The reduction in resistance indicates that limiting CTF use at hatcheries effectively controls BSC resistance in E. coli among broilers.
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Background: The aim of our study was to investigate the possible etiology of avian colibacillosis by examining Escherichia coli isolates from fecal samples of healthy broilers.

Findings: Seventy-eight E. coli isolates from fecal samples of healthy broilers in Japan were subjected to analysis of phylogenetic background, virulence-associated gene profiling, multi-locus sequence typing (MLST), and antimicrobial resistance profiling.

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Antimicrobial agents are essential for controlling bacterial disease in food-producing animals and contribute to the stable production of safe animal products. The use of antimicrobial agents in these animals affects the emergence and prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria isolated from animals and animal products. As disease-causing bacteria are often transferred from food-producing animals to humans, the food chain is considered a route of transmission for the resistant bacteria and/or resistance genes.

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Article Synopsis
  • - We studied the occurrence of plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) genes in avian pathogenic E. coli (APEC) strains in Japan, testing 117 samples from 2004 to 2007 for specific genes using polymerase chain reaction.
  • - The tests revealed that several PMQR genes were absent in the APEC strains, but one strain was found to produce the AAC(6')-Ib-cr enzyme, indicating some level of resistance.
  • - Additionally, we characterized this resistant isolate as belonging to phylogenetic group A, sequence type 167, and noted that it's the first report of the aac(6')-Ib-cr gene found in bacteria from food-producing animals in Japan. *
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Broad-spectrum cephalosporin (BSC) resistance has increased in Escherichia coli isolates from broiler chickens in Japan since 2004. The purpose of this study was to understand the epidemiology of BSC-resistant E. coli in livestock animals.

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This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157 (n = 241) and O26 (n = 11) isolated from beef cattle and to characterize their antimicrobial resistance profiles. Resistance to dihydrostreptomycin was detected most frequently (STEC O157, 9.5%; STEC O26, 54.

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To reveal the antimicrobial susceptibilities of Escherichia coli isolates from wild mice, 81 E. coli isolates were obtained from 109 voles (Clethrionomys spp.), 52 large Japanese field mice (Apodemus speciosus) and 19 small Japanese field mice (A.

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In order to investigate the origin of tetracycline resistance in Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, conjugative transpositions of Tn916 were tested. The frequency of transfer between strains of E. rhusiopathiae was about 10-fold higher than that between Enterococcus faecalis and E.

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The antimicrobial susceptibilities of 2,205 isolates of Escherichia coli and 1,181 isolates of Enterococcus faecalis (n=610) and E. faecium (n=571) from apparently healthy cattle, pigs and broiler and layer chickens collected from 2000 to 2003 were examined using an agar dilution method. Overall, the isolates from cattle and layer chickens showed a lower incidence of resistance to almost all antimicrobials studied compared with those from pigs and broiler chickens.

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A total of 518 fecal samples collected from 183 apparently healthy cattle, 180 pigs and 155 broilers throughout Japan in 1999 were examined to determine the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of Salmonella. The isolation rates were 36.1% in broilers, 2.

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We investigated 66 Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae strains isolated from pigs affected with swine erysipelas in Japan from 1994 to 2001 for serotype, pathogenicity towards mice, protection in vaccinated mice and antimicrobial susceptibility. Most of the isolates (84.8%) were serotype 1 or 2.

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A total of 56 isolates of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis, including 38 isolates from poultry, 16 from cattle and two from pigs, collected between 1976 and 2004, were subjected to bacteriophage typing and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Phage type (PT) 8 was predominant in bovine isolates, whereas PT1 and PT4 were predominant in poultry isolates. Resistance was found for 8 of 11 antimicrobials tested, at the following rates: 46.

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In total, 83 avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) isolates from avian colibacillosis during a period from 2001 to 2006 in Japan were investigated for serogroups, typical virulence factors, antimicrobial susceptibility, and genetic relatedness. The most common serogroup was O78 (30.1%); 80.

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Salmonella enterica serovar Choleraesuis (S. Choleraesuis) isolates derived from diseased pigs in Japan during 2001 and 2005 were analyzed for biotype, based on H(2)S production and dulcitol fermentation, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) profile, and antimicrobial resistance profile. S.

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We investigated the farm-level impact of the use of several different antimicrobial agents on the population of antimicrobial-resistant commensal bacteria of animal origin to appropriately assess the release risk of resistance. This study was carried out based on the results of a survey on the history of antimicrobial drug use in 297 pig farms and antimicrobial susceptibility testing for the 545 Escherichia coli isolates (one or two isolates/pig/farm). A comparative analysis with the nonexposed herd revealed that ampicillin (ABPC) resistance in E.

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A total of 153 isolates of Salmonella Typhimurium derived from food-producing animals in Japan between 2002 and 2005 were investigated for antimicrobial resistance and phage types related to definitive phage type 104 (DT104). The predominant resistance type was resistance to ampicillin, dihydrostreptomycin, kanamycin, and oxytetracycline in bovine (45.2%, 48/104) and resistance to dihydrostreptomycin and oxytetracycline in porcine isolates (58.

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On 1,374 food-producing animal farms in 2001-2004, we investigated the influence of antimicrobial usage within 6 months before a survey conducted on antimicrobial resistance in Campylobacter. Tetracyclines and fluoroquinolones were used for therapeutic purposes on 107 and 21 farms, respectively. Oxytetracycline-resistant C.

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The aim of this study was to clarify the involvement of tetracycline usage in resistance rates against other antimicrobials. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was carried out on 545 porcine Escherichia coli isolates throughout Japan. As the result of analyzing by regions, resistance rates against kanamycin, oxytetracycline and trimethoprim in the Kanto/Koshinetu district were higher than those in some other districts.

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Eleven broiler isolates of Salmonella Infantis obtained between 1989 and 1998 were examined for antimicrobial susceptibility and pulse field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) profiles. Seven strains of S. Infantis isolated after 1993 harbored similar antimicrobial susceptibilities to the recent isolates between 2001 and 2003.

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We investigated the susceptibilities against 7 antimicrobial agents in Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli isolates from food-producing animals in 2004. In comparison with the results of past surveillance, no significant difference was observed in resistance rates against all of the antimicrobials tested in Campylobacter isolates.

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