Colistin use and colistin resistance in bacteria from animals

Colistin has been used in veterinary medicine for decades, mainly for the prevention and treatment of Enterobacteriaceae infections. However, data regarding colistin resistance in bacteria from animals and food of animal origin are relatively scarce, partly because there are methodological difficulties hampering the analysis of susceptibility to colistin. Most data regarding clinical isolates are related to enteropathogenic Escherichia coli and Salmonella. The resistance percentages are sometimes high for pathogenic strains, and the mcr-1 gene has been detected in pathogenic E. coli isolates from pigs, cattle and poultry in different countries. The prevalence of colistin resistance in Salmonella from healthy animals is usually low but depends on the proportion of intrinsically colistin-resistant serotypes. For indicator E. coli, the resistance levels are often very low, although higher levels have been observed in Asia. The mcr-1 gene has been detected in indicator E. coli from pigs, cattle, poultry and their products. Thus, there is an urgent need to re-assess the use of colistin in livestock throughout the world to ensure a global strategy for preserving this last-resort antimicrobial.