Developing Responsible Use of Antibiotics Protocols

Abstract

The emergence of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in Europe and its association with a human disease, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob (vCJD), has had a profound effect on the psyche of consumers, politicians and regulators. This has been reinforced by thestream of food scares from E.coli 0:157 H:7 to quinolone-resistant Salmonella and PCB contamination in Belgian animal feeds. The result has been an intense interest in the food chain, concentrating on food production methods. Everything that has been seen as accepted practice in the past is now open to challenge. Even the professions are having to justify and defend what they are doing.

Clear evidence of this change in approach within the European Union (EU) has been the ban of hormone growth promoters, beta-agonists, bovine somatotrophin (BST), Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and more recently a group of antibiotic growth promoters that were related to human medicines. There has also been an increasing emphasis on seeking to attach blame for antibiotic resistance in hospitals and the community on the veterinary and zootechnical usage of antibiotics. This has triggered an increasing interest in how antibiotics are used on farms and attempts to measure the quantities used in agriculture. Out of this has arisen a move to promote the 'responsible' use of medicines, which is evident in either the development offormularies or responsible use guidelines.