CSU lands $2.25M grant to study ag’s influence on ‘superbugs’

FORT COLLINS – Colorado State University scientists will use a $2.25 million federal grant to investigate antibiotic use in animals processed for food and its effect on antibiotic resistance in people.

CSU will use the grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study antibiotic use in livestock such as beef and dairy cattle. They will research the degree to which the longstanding agricultural practice contributes to development of “superbugs” that infect people with costly, difficult-to-treat illnesses.

CSU said the study will be one of the largest of its kind. Antibiotics are used in livestock to kill dangerous bacteria and other germs, but infectious bacteria that survive lead to greater antimicrobial resistance.

“Antimicrobial resistance is one of the most significant grand challenges to human animal and food safety,” said Alan Rudolph, CSU vice president for research, in a statement.

Last year, the White House directed federal agencies to coordinate on a national strategy to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria. At least 2 million people become infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria annually in the U.S., with at least 23,000 people dying annually due to those infections, according to CSU. Salmonella and Campylobacter, two of the many bacteria commonly transmitted through food, cause an estimated 410,000 antibiotic-resistant infections nationwide annually.

Keith Belk, professor in CSU’s Center for Meat Safety and Quality, and Paul Morley, a CSU veterinarian and infectious-disease expert, will lead the research. The scientists hope to gain a better understanding of the role agricultural industry plays in antibiotic resistance.

Using DNA sequencing technology, the scientists will trace genes that cause resistance in bacteria. This will allow them to determine sources and paths, including whether and how antimicrobial-resistant bugs move from livestock to humans.

The cost of advanced genetic-sequencing technology has dropped dramatically in the past decade, allowing researchers to conduct more thorough examinations of hundreds of millions of bacteria, according to CSU.

Other groups involved in the study include the Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Public Health Agency of Canada, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and people in the agricultural industry who will give scientists access to their animals.

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