Importance of reducing antibiotic use in agriculture

ANTIBIOTICS – we’ve heard a lot about them and as well as the amount we humans use, their role in the farming industry has faced harsh criticism over the years. But why is it an issue and have we as an industry made any inroads in tackling the problem?

Recent TV campaigns discourage us to ask for them from our GPs, but of course our livestock have no say in what medicine they receive. The onus is on the farmer. We all know that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens both the prevention and treatment of a variety of diseases in humans and livestock.

In livestock, these diseases – caused by organisms such as bacteria, parasites and fungi – negatively affect both production and fertility, and can have a substantial impact on farm profitability.

The ever-increasing reports of AMR are of concern to all farm sectors. And while AMR can occur via genetic mutations, the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials will inevitably speed up this natural process, especially as the past 30 years have seen no new major antibiotics developed. That’s why it is vital that the industry continues to be at the forefront of good practice in order to protect and lengthen the use of current drugs.

A recent EU report has warned that on-farm antibiotics usage must also be reduced in all classes of drugs in order to reduce the threat of co-selection – when the use of one antibiotic causes resistance to develop to another antibiotic. The report was jointly written by the European Food Safety Authority, the European Medicines Agency and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Previous reports also called for a reduction in the use of antibiotics, deeming it to be critically important for human health.

The good news is that the report also highlights that the UK agricultural sector was a “very low” user of antibiotics. Moreover, data from 2014 demonstrates that the UK was one of the lowest users of antibiotics in the EU. Data from 2015 sales in the UK also showed even more inroads being made in the sector to reduce usage – the Veterinary Antimicrobials Resistance and Sales Surveillance Data showed a 10% decline in antibiotic use between 2014-15.

But the proper use of antimicrobials remains an integral part of good farm management. Proactive consultation with your vet could help to find more ways to reduce or replace current antimicrobial drug use while ensuring that current drug regimes and doses are fit for purpose.