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Less intensive livestock sectors will come under increased pressure in the future to reduce antibiotic usage, sheep farmers were told at an event in Cookstown on Monday evening.
Local vet John Grant, from Parklands Veterinary Group, said that while the current focus is mainly on reducing antibiotic usage in intensive livestock systems, other farming sectors need to follow suit.
He said that pressure would come through quality assurance schemes and the availability of antibiotics to farmers in veterinary practices: “You guys will probably be the last because you have more extensive systems, but it is coming.”
Grant explained that overuse of antibiotics can lead to antimicrobial resistance (AMR), where bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics are not killed and therefore multiply.
“Every time we use an antibiotic, we select for resistance by killing off the responsive bacteria,” he said.
We have a moral obligation to reduce antibiotic use at farm level
Some scientists forecast that more people will die due to AMR than cancer by 2050.
“We have a moral obligation to reduce antibiotic use at farm level,” Grant maintained.
However, the Cookstown-based vet pointed out that significant progress was also needed in reducing antibiotic usage in humans, particularly in countries where access is not tightly regulated.
Farmers were advised by Grant to “use as little as possible, but as much as necessary,” when treating livestock with antibiotics. He said that, similar to resistance issues with sheep wormers, under-dosing with antibiotics can lead to AMR.
In the UK sheep sector, 60% of antibiotics used are oxytetracycline-based and are not classified as Critically Important Antimicrobials (CIA). Marbocyl and Baytril are common examples of CIA, which is the highest priority group to avoid AMR.
“Please stay away from using those. They should only be a last resort,” Grant said.
Infections
On sheep farms, Grant suggested that farmers take a critical look at their system to see where they can reduce the likelihood of infections occurring.
Cleanliness and hygiene are key areas for lowering the environmental challenge to livestock.
Best practice when cleaning sheds involves pressure washing all surfaces and then applying a detergent, such as Kenosan, through a foamer device.
After the required contact time for the detergent has passed, it should be washed off and surfaces let dry before disinfectant is applied at the correct concentration.
Cleaning trailers properly, spreading lime around heavily trafficked areas and putting stones around mucky gaps were examples given of ways to reduce infections – particularly of scald, footrot and CODD which all lead to lameness.
Other suggestions included sterilising stomach tubes for lambs with Milton after use, and wearing latex gloves when working with livestock.
“Spend money on avoiding infections rather than on antibiotics,” Grant said.
Separation
Quarantine of bought-in stock is also an important part of reducing disease threats. New stock should be kept separate from the rest of the flock for at least three weeks and ideally right up until lambing.
Grant said that every farm should have “hospital areas” where sick or lame sheep stay to reduce the risk of infection spreading: “Lameness is an infection, I think that hasn’t clicked with a lot of sheep farmers yet.”
Farmers were also encouraged to have an adequate rodent control policy.
The other area to reduce antibiotic usage on sheep farms is to increase immunity in flocks
Increasing immunity to infections
As well as lowering the environmental challenge of infection, the other area to reduce antibiotic usage on sheep farms is to increase immunity in flocks, said John Grant.
He told farmers that this involves managing nutrition correctly, monitoring body condition, reducing fluke and worm burdens and supplementing ewes with vitamins and minerals if needed.
Grant recommended that lambs get 50ml of colostrum for every 1kg liveweight, so 200-250ml for a typical 4-5kg lamb. He said that having good colostrum quality and adequate intakes will reduce the need for blanket treatment of lambs with oral or injectable antibiotics.
“The last area for increasing immunity, and I mean last, is vaccinations. You need to sort out all these other things first and use vaccinations as the icing on top,” Grant said.
Storage
On the issue of vaccines, Sarah Campbell from MSD Animal Health said that farmers need to store vaccines at the correct temperature and when opened they should be used within the timeframe outlined on the packaging.
She advised farmers to use clean, sharp needles when vaccinating livestock and said that finer needles should be used when injecting lambs.
“Change the needle as frequently as you can. There should not be a tug as you put the needle through the skin,” she said.
Where the primary course requires two shots several weeks apart, Campbell highlighted that there is little or no immune response from the first shot, so the second shot is essential.
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