Prudent Use Of Antimicrobials Crucial In Livestock Farming

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance is a global problem in both human and animal medicine. Veterinarian Dr David Gerber, the chief technical officer at South African animal health company V-Tech, explains the problem, and highlights the potential benefits of a surveillance programme.

- Lloyd Phillips

Where a range of antimicrobials used to be effective to treat bacterial infections, there are increasing numbers of cases where none are effective anymore. In particular, multiresistant Staphylococcus aureus is an increasing, potentially life-threatening problem, and can often only be treated with lastresort antimicrobials like Colistin.

In the past, Colistin was considered too toxic to be used in humans, but it has been widely used in the livestock industry since the 1940s. It should now be reserved for lastresort human use where all other options fail. In animals, it should be reserved for specific cases under veterinary control where it is the only option remaining and where it would be cruel not to treat a sick animal.

For veterinarians involved in the intensive livestock production industry, it is vital that we are part of the solution rather than part of the problem. It is, therefore, essential that we use the One Health approach, which requires us to consider the effects of our actions on human and animal health, as well as on the environment.

In 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) published the fifth revision of its report, ‘Critically important antimicrobials for human medicine for the risk management of antimicrobial resistance’. In the broader framework of the One Health approach, South Africa has adopted international recommendations and formulated the South African Antimicrobial Resistance National Strategy Framework (SAAMRNSF), which clearly follows WHO recommendations, specifying that antimicrobials in foodproducing animals should be used only under the supervision of veterinarians.