Researching Antibiotic Resistance in Cattle

Last April, I attended my first livestock auction.

It very well may be my last. But then again, I never thought I would ever find myself there watching cattle on display, showing off their size for the highest bidder. It certainly was a unique experience.

My research partners and I were at the auction in rural Costa Rica as part of our research project on the use of antibiotics in livestock and how it contributes to antibiotic resistance. The auction allowed us to interview many farmers all at one location in order to study their knowledge and use of antibiotics. The farmers were very welcoming and received us with open arms. They were kind enough to invite us to visit each one of their farms to collect some samples of the cattle fecal matter. Yes, we scooped up cow poop.

Maybe not the highlight of the semester, but certainly an interesting experience!

However, walking around these beautiful farms with volcanoes on the horizon and getting a glimpse at the livelihood of the farmers certainly may have been the highlight.

With fecal samples in hand, we returned to La Selva Biological Research Station to test it for the presence of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Interestingly, we did find quite a bit of resistant bacteria, a potential public health risk. We were able to report our findings to the farmers that participated in the study and explain to them what the results mean. This portion was very rewarding, as many of them attended our poster presentation and were very intrigued by our study.

This research project has been of tremendous value. The project had a field research component and a lab component, which made it especially helpful in my personal development as I continue my education in science. Additionally, I learned a lot about the logistics of planning field research, something that I would not have had the opportunity to do if not for the support of OTS.

I have a lot of plans for the upcoming school year as I start my senior year back on campus at Holy Cross, but no plans quite as interesting as the livestock auction.