This study is one of WCAHS' five core research projects. Dr. Xiang (Crystal) Yang is the lead researcher on this project.
Health Impacts of Antimicrobial Resistance
Antibiotics are commonly used in animal agriculture in the US to control, prevent, or treat diseases. However, long-term use of antibiotics has resulted in antimicrobial resistant bacteria in agriculture.
Antimicrobial resistance poses a significant health issue globally. Due to the widespread use of antibiotics in dairy production, there is a substantial concern that antibiotic use in animal agriculture contributes to antimicrobial resistance in farmworkers who are directly or indirectly exposed to antimicrobial resistant bacteria.
Research Aims
Dr. Xiang (Crystal) Yang aims to assess the occupational risk of antimicrobial resistance in dairy farmworkers using metagenomics. Metagenomics is an approach to investigate the structure and function of the DNA sequences of a microbial community. By defining the occupational tasks with a high risk of exposure to antimicrobial resistant bacteria, the study will lay the groundwork for future research aimed at the development of effective safety interventions.
Future Work
In the next year, the research team will recruit dairy farms to participate in the study. In addition, they will work to develop, test, and validate a survey questionnaire of occupational tasks and behaviors related to exposure risks to antibiotic resistance. Then, they will begin to collect samples from participating farms and questionnaires from farmworkers.
Media Contacts
Dr. Yang can be reached via email at xcryang@ucdavis.edu.