Monitoring of Antibiotic Resistance Spread in Farms (MARS-F)

General Overview

The use of antimicrobials in livestock has greatly contributed to the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). It has been shown that resistance can pass from animals to humans through various routes, including food products and environmental samples (such as swabs from udders, milking equipment and operators' hands, milk and dairy products, feed produced on the farm, wastewater and manure used to fertilise fields). This project adopts a One Health approach to investigate AMR circulation in dairy farms across different European countries, to identify AMR hotspots and transmission pathways, with particular attention to the role of environmental samples in the spread of resistance.

Purpose and Significance 

The increase of AMR on farms worldwide, despite regulations aimed at keeping it under control, highlights the need for a new integrated surveillance system within a One Health approach to improve understanding of environmental transmission routes.

MARS-F will be the first step towards creating a European network working on the surveillance of AMR in environmental sources and the veterinary sector, in order to propose effective interventions aimed at reducing the spread of resistant bacteria and safeguarding human health and well-being.

Implementation Method and Timeline 

Four EUniWell Universities participate in MARS-F, each bringing their individual strengths to the project:

University of Florence – Project coordination; sampling and laboratory analysis; nanopore whole genome sequencing (WGS); literature review on AMR in dairy farms; data integration.

University of Birmingham  – Sampling campaigns and laboratory analysis; Illumina WGS.

University of Santiago de Compostela  – Sampling campaigns and laboratory analysis.

Semmelweis University – Literature review on clinical antibiotic resistance; organisation of final in-person meeting and dissemination.

Project start: 15 December 2025 | End: 31 December 2026

  1. Kick-off meeting and protocol standardisation (Months 1–2)
  2. Sampling campaigns including various sample types (environmental, animal, human and food) (Months 2–4)
  3. Laboratory analysis: detection of microbiological indicators known as proven carriers of AMR using classical microbiological methods and confirmed by PCR. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing and detection of specific resistance genes by PCR (Months 2–6)
  4. Whole Genome Sequencing of the most interesting strains (Months 5–9)
  5. Data integration and literature review (Months 6–11)
  6. In-person meeting at Semmelweis University (Month 11)
  7. Dissemination and network building (Month 12)
Picture of a farm

© Mark Stebnicki

Expected Outcomes

The data collection on AMR will be used to identify environmental hotspots and assess the spread of resistance in dairy farms in different European countries. The project will also explore how resistance can pass from one source to another and through the supply chain, and examine whether there is a relationship between antibiotic use on farms and the resistance detected.

In particular, the role of farming waste (water and manure) in the spread of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and resistance genes will be investigated.

Furthermore, comparing strains found in human clinical settings with those in the veterinary field may help determine whether there is a correlation between the two areas.

 

Contact persons: 

Fabiola Berti, University of Florence

Trinidad de Miguel, University of Santiago de Compostela 

Béla Kocsis, Semmelweis University 

Jo Rhodes, University of Birmingham