Ghent University: Web app to measure antibiotic usage in poultry farms

USE OF AGPS HAS A MAJOR ROLE IN ANIMAL INDUSTRY AND IT IS ONE OF THE FIRST MANAGEMENT PROTOCOL FOR DISEASE PREVENTION. THE FARMING ENVIRONMENT IS NOT A STERILE ONE SO AS TO AVOID PATHOGENS. DISEASES HAS BEEN A BATTLE TO FIGHT AND WE CANNOT WIN OVER IT,,H5N1 HAS SHOWN THE TWIST N TURN AND MORE RESEARCH HAS BEEN DONE, THAN EDWARD JENNER DID TO INVENT POX VACCINE. I APPRECIATE RESEARCH DONE FOR THE FAMILY OF PRODUCERS ,AND YES CONCEPT OF ORGANIC FARMING IS BEEN DEVELOPED.FARMERS ARE NOW MORE EDUCATED AND ARE ABLE TO TACKLE THE SICK MANAGEMENT WITH THE OPEN KNOWLEDGE. AND IMPROVE HUSBANDRY PRACTICES.

Dear All, Everybody should be proud to be associated to the veterinary group at Ghent University Belgium that are working on antibiotic usage and its consequences. The major concern & area for using the antibiotics like water in INDIA are commercial broiler farming & dairy farming & those uses are mainly without knowing the pharmacology & physiological action of those antibiotics Viz. mode of action, withdrawal period etc which results in the residual effects of the same on human health. To overcome those problems & control the usage of antibiotics i wish to share below thoughts with all veterinarians.. 1) every veterinarian should be follow the Veterinary Oath & try to stick up with the same 100% 2) Educate the peoples involved in the animal husbandry practices up to the optimum level of understanding on the impact of antibiotics on human & animal health. 3) Instead of antibiotics promote the usage of Prebiotics , Probiotics & ayurvedic preparations to check the harmful micro flora. 4) Tighten the bio security at each & every farm & make public awareness on the same. 5) Indian government also planning to ban some antibiotics which are harmful & reference for the same pasted below. INDIA - The Government is to introduce a cap on the use of antibiotics and ban some products altogether in poultry, shrimp and fish during production in order to tackle the problem of antibiotic resistance in human pathogens Antibiotic shots used at will to make chickens fatter or shrimps bigger will be regulated soon, reports Times of India. For the first time, National Policy for Containment of Antimicrobial Resistance has put a cap on how much antibiotics can be pumped into seafood or poultry products, including shrimps, prawns or fish and fishery products. The policy has named common antibiotics like tetracycline, oxytetracycline, trimethoprim and oxolinic acid, and clearly mentioned it 'shall not exceed the prescribed tolerance limit'. The use of over 20 antibiotics or pharmacologically active substances has been prohibited in seafood and poultry products. Professor Randeep Guleria from AIIMS, a part of the task force, said: "Antibiotics are used by farmers to prevent infection in fish or poultry. However, until now, there was no limitation. We didn't want such fish or meat to enter the food chain and lead to the emergence of antibiotic resistance in humans who eat it. That's why we have fixed limits." Dr Ranjit Roychoudhury, a task force member and one of India's best known clinical pharmacologists, added: "Poultry are fattened and fish are made bigger by pumping antibiotics and hormones for better price. Eating such products on a regular basis can cause antibiotic resistance in humans." India is also putting in place a 'bad bug house' – a national repository of bacterial strains that will house drug-resistant strains, including molecular components like DNA/plasmids, according to Times of India. Dr Roychoudhury added: "We don't have a national repository of standard bacterial strains required for quality control or comparison when new bugs appear. Institute of Microbial technology (IMTECH), Chandigarh, has the requisite infrastructure and expertise." Dr Guleria said: "Once we have a national repository, we can carry out genetic studies on strains, know where they came from, what their weaknesses are and how they can be eliminated." According to the policy, about 80 per cent of antibiotics are used in the community and the rest are used in hospitals. It is estimated that 20 to 50 per cent of all antibiotics use in India is inappropriate, resulting in an increased risk of adverse side-effects, higher costs of therapy and higher rate of antimicrobial resistance of community pathogen. The policy has also called for the setting up of a national technical advisory group on development of newer antimicrobials. No new antibiotics have been discovered for years. On the other hand, bacteria strains are being found that are resistant to the latest generation of antibiotics. "That's why this group will work with prominent research institutes to develop newer antimicrobials," Dr Roychoudhury said. Another Drug and Therapeutics Committee (DTC) will fix criteria for the approval of new drugs. It may decide to keep a maximum of three brands of an approved generic. DTC can also ban the use of few harmful drugs like phenylpropanolamine (PPA) and nimesulide in the hospital. The committee can also remove few irrational fixed dose combinations from the hospital drug list. These combinations include the fixed dose combination of ampicillin with cloxacillin, amoxicillin with cloxacillin. Hospital DTC will also develop the over-the-counter drug list for the hospital. The Times of India article concludes that over-use, under-use and misuse of antimicrobials remain a worldwide hazard – over 15 billion injections per year, half unsterile, many unnecessary, 25 to 75 per cent of antibiotic prescriptions inappropriate, 50 per cent of people worldwide fail to take medicines correctly. All over the world, 30 to 60 per cent of PHC patients receive antibiotics, which may be twice as high as it may be clinically required. Lets unite together globally to make this program successful. Thanks & regards, Dr. Jaydip

Dr Jaydip. India needs more professionals like you. Education needs to focus on veterinarians, zootechnical people and nutritionists. For international trade it is imporant to avoid antibiotics in prophylactic purposes. Dr Jaydip, thanks for the excellent intervention, Kind regards, Catharina Berge

Kind Attn:Dr. Anant Deshpande, Dear Sir, First of all lot of thanks to this forum to meet us again after pune meet. Also thanks for providing us such a wonderful platform to share our views & ideas for the well being of Society as well as industry too. I have confident that if every veterinarian will stick up with the alternatives of Antibiotics with all pros & cons then & then only our motto will be achieved. Please refer the recent news from South Korea on Antibiotic rules & regulations South Korea to ban antibiotics in animal feed //03 Jun 2011 South Korea in planning to impose a total ban on the mixing of antibiotics with animal feed effective from July, Yonhap news agency reported quoted the government as a source. It is hoped that the move will heighten consumer trust in the satefy of livestock products. “The government will impose a total ban on the addition of antibiotics to animal feed by revising rules governing animal feed production,” the farm industry said. “The new rules will enhance the safety of local meat and dairy products.” Prior to 2005 South Korea had allowed 44 varieties of antibiotics to be mixed with feed, but gradually decreased the number when scientists warned of serious side effects of giving livestock too many antibiotics. Under the revised rules the use of 8 varieties of antibiotics will be prohibited, along with one antimicrobial agent, the ministry said. The ministry also stressed that once the law comes into effect violations will be dealt with sternly. Veterinarians will still be permitted to inject antibiotics into sick animals. Regards, Dr Jaydip