Consult vet before using antibiotics on livestock, farmers advised

SERDANG: Using antibiotics on livestock without consulting a veterinarian can lead to antibiotic resistance in humans and the emergence of superbugs which can kill, said Universiti Putra Malaysia ruminant medicine senior lecturer Dr Rozaihan Mansor.

The corresponding author of the survey, “Knowledge, attitude and perception regarding antimicrobial resistance and usage among ruminant farmers in Selangor, Malaysia”, said not all diseases were caused by bacteria.

The survey found more than half of the farmers in Selangor used antibiotics on their livestock without a prescription.

“Some infection are viral, parasitic or may not be an infectious dis- ease such as metabolic diseases resulting in deficiency in minerals.

“They do not need antibiotics,” she said of the survey which was reported by The Star on Sunday.

Dr Rozaihan said if an animal had diarrhoea, a veterinarian would normally take stool samples and send them to a laboratory.

“Only if the condition is severe that we prescribe a broad spectrum antibiotic that will kill off many groups of bacteria.

“If the animal does not recover, we will return to the laboratory to identify the bacteria and choose a specific antibiotic that still works to treat the animal,” she said.

She said broad spectrum antibiotics were prescribed first instead of a specific antibiotic to treat very sick animals while waiting for the results.

The survey said some 97 different antibiotics were registered for use under the National Pharmaceutical Control Bureau of the Health Ministry and most of the drugs were also used in livestock industry.

The European Union has banned the use of antibiotics as growth promoters in animal feed since 2006 and the Malaysian’s Animal Feed Act 2009 also does not allow antibiotics in animal feed, but Malaysia has been slow in banning it totally.