Publications by authors named "Sydnee Feicht"

Environmental surfaces can serve as reservoirs for pathogens and antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria in healthcare settings. Although active surveillance programs are used in veterinary and human healthcare, unconventional settings like zoological facilities are often overlooked, even though antimicrobials are used to maintain the health of their animal collections. Here, we used electrostatic cloths to conduct active environmental surveillance over a 2-year period at two zoological institutions to determine contamination prevalence of human-only and mixed animal-human touch environments with AMR bacteria.

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Wastewater flows from metropolitan areas, especially those with healthcare inputs, can serve as transport reservoirs for the dissemination of clinically-relevant antimicrobial resistant bacteria (ARB) such as carbapenem- (CR) and colistin-resistant (CoR) strains. Pulsed electric field (PEF) is an emerging wastewater management tool for reducing bacterial loads without generating environmentally harmful byproducts, but it's ability to reduce ARB and their genetic determinants is not well reported. We collected 86, 10-L raw wastewater influent samples from a large metropolitan wastewater treatment plant in Columbus, Ohio and subjected them to low (34 kV cm for 67 μsec) and high (36 kV cm for 89 μsec) PEF treatment.

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Carbapenemase-producing bacteria (CPB) are rare, multidrug resistant organisms most commonly associated with hospitalized patients. Metropolitan wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) treat wastewater from large geographic areas which include hospitals and may serve as epidemiologic reservoirs for the maintenance or expansion of CPB that originate from hospitals and are ultimately discharged in treated effluent. However, little is known about the potential impact of these WWTP CPB on the local surface water and their risk to the public health.

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Antimicrobial resistant bacteria in retail meat pose a health hazard to the public, as does contamination of these products with Salmonella. Our aim was to determine the prevalence of Salmonella as well as Escherichia coli expressing AmpC and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) resistance phenotypes contaminating broiler transport cages and fresh, retail ground chicken meat. Sterile gauze sponges were used to collect duplicate cage floor samples from transport trailers that deliver market-ready birds to a single organic poultry-processing facility.

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Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) threaten both agriculture and public health. While carbapenems are restricted in food-producing animals, other β-lactams, such as ceftiofur, are frequently applied in livestock. While the relationship is not fully elucidated, ceftiofur use may provide selective pressure that promotes carbapenem resistance.

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Transmission of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) from animal production systems to humans through the food supply is a public health concern. Currently, little is known about the prevalence of AMR among veal calves in the United States. Therefore, the objective of this prospective cohort study was to estimate the prevalence of AMR and multidrug resistance (MDR) among Escherichia coli within a vertically integrated production system.

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Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) present an urgent threat to public health. While use of carbapenem antimicrobials is restricted for food-producing animals, other β-lactams, such as ceftiofur, are used in livestock. This use may provide selection pressure favoring the amplification of carbapenem resistance, but this relationship has not been established.

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