General public health considerations for responding to animal hoarding cases.

Animal hoarding is an under-recognized problem that exists in most communities and adversely impacts the health, welfare, and safety of humans, animals, and the environment. These guidelines address public health and worker safety concerns in handling situations where animal hoarding or other dense concentrations of animals have caused unhealthy and unsafe conditions. Because animal hoarding situations are often complex, a full response is likely to be prolonged and require a cross-jurisdictional multiagency effort.

Importance of prudent antibiotic use on dairy farms in South Carolina: a pilot project on farmers' knowledge, attitudes and practices.

Inappropriate use of antibiotics in humans and animals contributes to decreased antimicrobial susceptibility in bacteria of medical importance. Resistant bacteria being transferred from animals to humans are causing public health concern. In-person interviews were conducted with 20 dairy farmers in rural counties of South Carolina to determine farmers' knowledge and attitudes about prudent antibiotic use among livestock.

Genetic relatedness of a rarely isolated Salmonella: Salmonella enterica serotype Niakhar from NARMS animal isolates.

Background: In the United States, Salmonella enterica serotype Niakhar is infrequently isolated. Between 1997 and 2000, the animal arm of the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System-Enteric Bacteria (NARMS) assayed a total of 22,383 Salmonella isolates from various animal sources (swine, cattle, chickens, turkeys, cats, horses, exotics and dogs) for antimicrobial susceptibility. Isolates originated from diagnostic and non-diagnostic submissions.

Nontyphoidal Salmonella from human clinical cases, asymptomatic children, and raw retail meats in Yucatan, Mexico.

Background: We report the results of a 3-year Salmonella surveillance study of persons with diarrhea; asymptomatic children; and retail pork, poultry, and beef in Yucatan, Mexico.

Methods: Isolates were characterized according to serotype, antimicrobial susceptibility, and genetic relatedness with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.

Results: Salmonella Typhimurium was the most common serotype found in ill humans (21.

Salmonella in dairy operations in the United States: prevalence and antimicrobial drug susceptibility.

Salmonella serotypes are important foodborne pathogens of humans that can be acquired through consumption of contaminated meat and dairy products. Salmonella infection also can be a significant animal health issue. As part of a national study of U.