Viable antimicrobial resistant bacteria are transported from cattle feed yards via aerosolized particulate matter

Increased awareness of consequences associated with Antimicrobial Resistant Bacteria (ARB) has given rise to considerable research on how and where resistance to antimicrobial agents occurs. A recent investigation that utilized DNA sequencing-based technologies to characterize bacterial communities suggests that ARBs are generated on cattle feed yards and dispersed into the environment via wind-blown Particulate Matter (PM). Despite compelling evidence that bacterial DNA was prominent in fugitive PM, it remained unclear whether the bacterial DNA was derived from viable microorganisms. Thus, the narrow focus of this investigation was to determine whether bacteria associated with airborne PM emanating from cattle feed yards are viable, and if so, whether any cultivable bacteria were resistant to antibiotics. Numerous viable aerobic, microaerophilic, and anaerobic bacteria were successfully cultured from aerosolized, feed yardderived PM. Several cultured isolates were resistant to an assortment of antibiotics. This confirms that viable antimicrobial resistant bacteria do indeed travel on airborne PM emanating from cattle feed yards.