High throughput sequencing technology in veterinary diagnostic laboratories to combat antimicrobial resistance

University Of Georgia, Athens GA

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Abstract

Project summary The economic cost of drug resistant infections has been calculated to reach up to reach $10 trillion with a deaths reaching up to 10 million deaths. The brunt of these economic and humanitarian devastation will be disproportionally felt by developing countries (O?Neil, 20114. In the USA close to 23, 000 people die annually as direct consequence of infection with antimicrobial resistant organism. The cost of this calamity is stated to be upwards of $35 billion per year (CDC, 2013). We do not know or truly understand the epidemiology of AMR or its geographic distribution in the U.S. Part of the answer lies in identifying the role of potential reservoirs such as companion and production animals. A better understanding of the transmission dynamics of AMR will help us understand the role of these unique animal sources in the distribution dynamics of drug resistance. The University of Georgia, through its ?One Health? initiative, is committed to promoting, training, and conducting research in all areas of animal, human and environmental health. The College of Veterinary Medicine and the State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory have a duty to the state and to its constituents to not only perform diagnosis but also to monitor trends and report unusual disease presentations or patterns of AMR. Our laboratory takes this responsibility very seriously, and over the years our faculty members have published articles with such findings. Moreover, the PI has worked extensively in the study of the chicken gut micro-biome, including the distribution of antimicrobial resistance, and the epidemiology of Salmonella in wildlife and the environment. The objective of this grant application is to enhance the capacity of our laboratory and other to assist with the FDA?s ability to monitor disease and AMR in animals and food products designated for pet consumption. We specifically propose to purchase an Illuina MiSeq instrument to piggyback on the current VET-LIRN Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance project for which we are a source laboratory, and for the past year we have assisting to validate sequencing capabilities of small laboratories through a methods comparison project. Our laboratory is proficient in library preparation/sequencing and ready to move to a high-throughput system to assist the sequencing laboratories in the VET-LIRNN Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance project.