No change in risk for antibiotic- resistant salmonellosis from beef, United States, 2002-2010

Abstract

Restricting antibiotic use in food production animals is a target for reducing antimicrobial drug-resistant infections in humans. To estimate the probability of antibiotic- resistant nontyphoidal salmonellosis per meal made with beef during 2002-2010, we used US surveillance data. Applying data for nontyphoidal Salmonella in raised-without-antibiotics cattle, we tested the effect of removing antibiotic use from all beef cattle production. We found an average of 1.2 antibiotic-resistant nontyphoidal salmonellosis cases per 1 million meals made with beef initially contaminated with antibioticresistant nontyphoidal Salmonella at slaughter or retail and 0.031 cases per 1 million beef meals irrespective of beef contamination status. Neither outcome showed sustained change except for increases in 2003 and 2009 (>98% confidence) when larger or more outbreaks occurred. Switching all beef production to a raisedwithout- antibiotics system may not have a significant effect on antibiotic-resistant nontyphoidal salmonellosis (94.3% confidence).