Education needed on antibiotics – vet
More consumers are concerned about the use of antibiotics in animals, says a specialist in anti-bacterial treatments.
At a Science behind Veterinary Practice conference held at Massey University, Stephen Page talked to veterinarians about antibiotic use on farms.
He is a vet consultant at Advanced Veterinary Therapeutics, and is based in Sydney.
The conference attracted private company vets, academics and government vets.
Page said there were not many bugs that were transmitted from animals to humans, but people were worried about antibiotic resistance in farmed animals.
He said the biggest fear was the transfer of antibiotic resistance by eating meat with antibiotics, although this was very rare.
‘‘Once consumers start to think that way, they can have an overwhelming impact.’’
Headlines in papers overseas such as ‘‘vets making a huge profit selling antibiotics to farms’’ or ‘‘get pigs off antibiotics’’ made a big difference in the way consumers thought.
He said the public concerns over anti- Health fears: Stephen Page, a veterinarian and epidemiologist, says people are worried about antibiotic resistance in farmed animals. biotic resistance were often fanned by organisations promoting soil health and organics. ‘‘People are worried and fearful about resistance. That fear was manifested when United States people said they would pay more for animals not treated with antibiotics.’’
Antibiotics used appropriately were really important for maintaining the health and welfare of animals, just as they were for humans.
‘‘We are seeing a perfect storm. The resistance to antibiotics is increasing, and at the same time research on new classes of antibiotics has decreased when we might need them most.’’
He put some of that resistance down to doctors over-prescribing antibiotics.
Page said many people knew little about how and when antibiotics were used in farming situations.
‘‘In New Zealand and in Australia, there is a lot of awareness of antimicrobial resistance among vets and a conservative approach to their use. But in some parts of the world there isn’t the same knowledge.’’
Page said the benefits meant many types of antibiotics could continue to be used, while there was resistance to this in other countries.
He said some bugs were resistant to antibiotics, although people were the most resistant to change in antibiotic use. ‘‘It’s a great irony perhaps, that people are concerned about resistance in animals, but they are less concerned about what has happened in medical practice or hospitals.’’
It meant they had taken a long time to put in place improvements worldwide to antibiotic use, he said.
There was a best practice way of raising animals intensively, such as pigs and chickens, and those industries that had been around for years were often managing it well, Page said.
‘‘Once you get a mature industry, they professionally manage it (for instance the chicken industry in New Zealand), so you find healthy animals in environments that don’t demand the use of antibiotics.’’