Geographic Population Genetic Structure of the New World Screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Diptera: Calliphoridae), Using SNPs.

The New World screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel 1858) (Diptera: Calliphoridae), is a serious parasite of livestock, humans, and other warm-blooded animals. It has been eradicated from the northern parts of its historical range down to the Panama-Colombian border where a permanent barrier zone is maintained. This eradication was accomplished through using the sterile insect technique (SIT). In 2016 there was an outbreak of C. hominivorax in the Florida Keys. In only six months, this pest was successfully re-eradicated using SIT, but the geographic origin of the invasion has yet to be resolved. It was previously determined that the Florida flies most likely represented a single invasion, and it was recommended that a finer-scale genetic assessment should be completed. Thus, this current proof-of-concept study aimed to develop a population genetic database using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to reference outbreaks and potentially identify the origin of the Florida outbreak. This initial database consists of wild-caught samples from 4 geographic locations as well as laboratory colony samples that originated from 7 additional locations using a genotyping by sequencing (GBS) approach. Geographic population structuring was identified for twelve populations that clustered according to geographic location. The Florida outbreak samples appeared similar to samples from the outer Caribbean cluster which included samples from Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago, however, these results will be further clarified with the replacement of laboratory colony samples with future wild-caught samples.

Resistance to antimicrobial agents among Salmonella isolates recovered from layer farms and eggs in the Caribbean region.

This investigation determined the frequency of resistance of 84 isolates of Salmonella comprising 14 serotypes recovered from layer farms in three Caribbean countries (Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, and St. Lucia) to eight antimicrobial agents, using the disc diffusion method. Resistance among isolates of Salmonella was related to the country of recovery, type of sample, size of layer farms, and isolate serotype. Overall, all (100.0%) of the isolates exhibited resistance to one or more of seven antimicrobial agents tested, and all were susceptible to chloramphenicol. The resistance detected ranged from 11.9% to sulphamethoxazole-trimethoprim (SXT) to 100.0% to erythromycin. The difference was, however, not statistically significant (P = 0.23). Across countries, for types of samples that yielded Salmonella, significant differences in frequency of resistance were detected only to SXT (P = 0.002) in Trinidad and Tobago and to gentamycin (P = 0.027) in St. Lucia. For the three countries, the frequency of resistance to antimicrobial agents was significantly different for ampicillin (P = 0.001) and SXT (P = 0.032). A total of 83 (98.8%) of the 84 isolates exhibited 39 multidrug resistance patterns. Farm size significantly (P = 0.032) affected the frequency of resistance to kanamycin across the countries. Overall, among the 14 serotypes of Salmonella tested, significant (P < 0.05) differences in frequency of resistance were detected to kanamycin, ampicillin, and SXT. Results suggest that the relatively high frequency of resistance to six of the antimicrobial agents (erythromycin, streptomycin, gentamycin, kanamycin, ampicillin, and tetracycline) tested and the multidrug resistance detected may pose prophylactic and therapeutic concerns for chicken layer farms in the three countries studied.

Survey of Salmonella contamination in chicken layer farms in three Caribbean countries.

This study was conducted to investigate the demography, management, and production practices on layer chicken farms in Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, and St. Lucia and the frequency of risk factors for Salmonella infection. The frequency of isolation of Salmonella from the layer farm environment, eggs, feeds, hatchery, and imported day-old chicks was determined using standard methods. Of the eight risk factors (farm size, age group of layers, source of day-old chicks, vaccination, sanitation practices, biosecurity measures, presence of pests, and previous disease outbreaks) for Salmonella infection investigated, farm size was the only risk factor significantly associated (P = 0.031) with the prevalence of Salmonella; 77.8% of large farms were positive for this pathogen compared with 33.3 and 26.1% of medium and small farms, respectively. The overall isolation rate of Salmonella from 35 layer farms was 40.0%. Salmonella was isolated at a significantly higher rate (P < 0.05) from farm environments than from the cloacae. Only in Trinidad and Tobago did feeds (6.5% of samples) and pooled egg contents (12.5% of samples) yield Salmonella; however, all egg samples from hotels, hatcheries, and airports in this country were negative. Salmonella Anatum, Salmonella group C, and Salmonella Kentucky were the predominant serotypes in Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, and St. Lucia, respectively. Although Salmonella infections were found in layer birds sampled, table eggs appear to pose minimal risk to consumers. However, the detection of Salmonella -contaminated farm environments and feeds cannot be ignored. Only 2.9% of the isolates belonged to Salmonella Enteritidis, a finding that may reflect the impact of changes in farm management and poultry production in the region.