2016 CIPARS Annual Report : Executive summary

The Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (CIPARS) collects, analyses, and communicates trends in antimicrobial use and in antimicrobial resistance for select bacteria from humans, animals, and retail meat across Canada. The bacteria under surveillance are known as enteric bacteria (can be found in the intestines of people and animals) and can be transmitted between animals and people. Information from CIPARS supports measures to contain the emergence and spread of resistant bacteria among animals, food, and people, with the aim of prolonging the effectiveness of antimicrobials.

The overall quantity of antimicrobials intended for use in Canadian animals was lower in 2016 than in 2015. However in broiler chickens, while the quantity of antimicrobials used was lower, the number of doses per kg chicken or doses per bird increased in 2016. This means that the decrease in quantity of antimicrobials used was attained by switching antimicrobial products and demonstrates the importance of using different methods of analysing antimicrobial use data to provide a more complete understanding of trends over time. Antimicrobial use data from several sources (i.e., the Canadian Animal Health Institute, CIPARS sentinel farms, IQVIA human data) showed that the types of antimicrobials used differed substantially between people and animals and between different animal species. Surveillance of antimicrobial use and resistance on turkey farms has recently been added to CIPARS; this report includes our first information from these farms. For broiler chickens, turkeys, and grower-finisher pigs, sentinel farm data showed that the majority of antimicrobials were administered for the purpose of disease prevention rather than for treatment of disease or growth promotion. For broiler chickens and grower-finisher pigs, sentinel farm data also showed that the use of medically important antimicrobials for growth promotion purposes declined in 2016. Reduction in reported antimicrobial use for growth promotion in broiler chickens is believed to be due to anticipatory changes by the industry ahead of expected federal policy changes.

With respect to multidrug resistance, the number of human and agri-food Salmonella isolates resistant to more than 5 antimicrobial classes continued to increase in 2016, particularly in isolates from humans, cattle, and pigs. In 2016, there were no isolates from chickens or turkeys that were resistant to more than 5 antimicrobial classes.

There are ongoing regional differences in the level of fluoroquinolone resistance in Campylobacter from chickens and chicken meat. For the first time, we were able to report limited human data for 3 regions of Canada; resistance to ciprofloxacin was more commonly identified in human.Campylobacter isolates from British Columbia and Alberta, than from Ontario.

The poultry industry-led initiative to eliminate use of ceftiofur and all other antimicrobials of very high importance to human medicine for disease prevention appears to have had the desired effect. Our data showed no reported use of ceftiofur since 2014 in broiler chickens and declining levels of ceftriaxone resistance in both Escherichia coli and Salmonella from chickens and chicken meat. However, it appears that ceftiofur use in chickens was replaced with the use of other antimicrobials, such as gentamicin and lincomycin-spectinomycin. Subsequently, CIPARS has observed increasing resistance to gentamicin in Salmonella and E. coli from chickens and chicken meat. The poultry industry in Canada has committed to removing the preventive use of antimicrobials of high importance to human medicine by the end of 2018 (which will include gentamicin and lincomycin-spectinomycin), and has set a goal to eliminate the preventive use of antimicrobials of medium importance to human medicine by the end of 2020.

CIPARS will continue to monitor and communicate the impact of changing use practices on the occurrence of resistance in animals and humans. CIPARS analysts are working to develop new ways of identifying emerging issues and integrating data across various host species, bacterial species and across regions. Key CIPARS findings for 2016 were also included in the 2017 Canadian Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System Report.

To view this report, please visit Publications.gc.ca (PDF document).