Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the ability of microorganisms to resist the effects of antibiotics. This is not just a public health issue isolated to GP practices, hospitals, healthcare officials and policy makers, AMR is happening on farms and both farmers and vets have a major role to play in the fight against it.
Avoiding the overuse and misuse of antibiotics is key to preventing its development.
The biggest threat with AMR is not only that animals can develop resistance to antibiotics, it is that these resistant bacteria can be transferred to humans. This results in reduced ability of antibiotics to treat infections in humans and animals.
A number of on-farm actions can reduce the development of AMR:
Only use antibiotics if there is active infection.Do not become over-reliant on antibiotics. Reduce the need for antibiotics by improving animal health, through good hygiene and management practices and good infection control measures (including vaccine use).Best practice is that animal(s) are clinically examined and a specific diagnosis is obtained to avoid inappropriate use of antibiotics. Accurate weight estimation of the animal ensures that the correct dose of the antibiotic is administered. Complete the course of antibiotics.Do not use antibiotics as a blanket measure to treat groups of animals in an untargeted manner. Develop a herd health programme in consultation with your private veterinary practitioner.It is important that we protect our antibiotics and ensure their availability for future generations of animals and humans.
We need to work together against AMR, because if we are not careful and misuse antibiotics, it may result in fully resistant infections for which we have no effective antibiotics left.
Padraic Kilmartin works at Glasslyn Veterinary Clinics, Glasslyn Rd, Bandon, Co Cork. Glasslyn Veterinary Clinics is part of XLVets. XLVets is a group of progressive practices working together to achieve a better future for agriculture and veterinary in Ireland. For more information, see www.xlvets.ie.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the ability of microorganisms to resist the effects of antibiotics. This is not just a public health issue isolated to GP practices, hospitals, healthcare officials and policy makers, AMR is happening on farms and both farmers and vets have a major role to play in the fight against it.
Avoiding the overuse and misuse of antibiotics is key to preventing its development.
The biggest threat with AMR is not only that animals can develop resistance to antibiotics, it is that these resistant bacteria can be transferred to humans. This results in reduced ability of antibiotics to treat infections in humans and animals.
A number of on-farm actions can reduce the development of AMR:
Only use antibiotics if there is active infection.Do not become over-reliant on antibiotics. Reduce the need for antibiotics by improving animal health, through good hygiene and management practices and good infection control measures (including vaccine use).Best practice is that animal(s) are clinically examined and a specific diagnosis is obtained to avoid inappropriate use of antibiotics. Accurate weight estimation of the animal ensures that the correct dose of the antibiotic is administered. Complete the course of antibiotics.Do not use antibiotics as a blanket measure to treat groups of animals in an untargeted manner. Develop a herd health programme in consultation with your private veterinary practitioner.It is important that we protect our antibiotics and ensure their availability for future generations of animals and humans.
We need to work together against AMR, because if we are not careful and misuse antibiotics, it may result in fully resistant infections for which we have no effective antibiotics left.
Padraic Kilmartin works at Glasslyn Veterinary Clinics, Glasslyn Rd, Bandon, Co Cork. Glasslyn Veterinary Clinics is part of XLVets. XLVets is a group of progressive practices working together to achieve a better future for agriculture and veterinary in Ireland. For more information, see www.xlvets.ie.
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