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World Health Organization: Stop using antibiotics in healthy animals

Published: November 10, 2017
Source : www.who.int/mediacentre/
The World Health Organization is recommending that farmers and the food industry stop using antibiotics routinely to promote growth and prevent disease in healthy animals.
The new WHO recommendations aim to help preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics that are important for human medicine by reducing their unnecessary use in animals. In some countries, approximately 80% of total consumption of medically important antibiotics is in the animal sector, largely for growth promotion in healthy animals.
Over-use and misuse of antibiotics in animals and humans is contributing to the rising threat of antibiotic resistance. Some types of bacteria that cause serious infections in humans have already developed resistance to most or all of the available treatments, and there are very few promising options in the research pipeline.
“A lack of effective antibiotics is as serious a security threat as a sudden and deadly disease outbreak,” says Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO. “Strong, sustained action across all sectors is vital if we are to turn back the tide of antimicrobial resistance and keep the world safe."
A systematic review published today in The Lancet Planetary Health found that interventions that restrict antibiotic use in food-producing animals reduced antibiotic-resistant bacteria in these animals by up to 39%. This research directly informed the development of WHO’s new guidelines.
WHO strongly recommends an overall reduction in the use of all classes of medically important antibiotics in food-producing animals, including complete restriction of these antibiotics for growth promotion and disease prevention without diagnosis. Healthy animals should only receive antibiotics to prevent disease if it has been diagnosed in other animals in the same flock, herd, or fish population.
Where possible, sick animals should be tested to determine the most effective and prudent antibiotic to treat their specific infection. Antibiotics used in animals should be selected from those WHO has listed as being “least important” to human health, and not from those classified as “highest priority critically important”. These antibiotics are often the last line, or one of limited treatments, available to treat serious bacterial infections in humans.
"Scientific evidence demonstrates that overuse of antibiotics in animals can contribute to the emergence of antibiotic resistance," says Dr. Kazuaki Miyagishima, Director of the Department of Food Safety and Zoonoses at WHO. "The volume of antibiotics used in animals is continuing to increase worldwide, driven by a growing demand for foods of animal origin, often produced through intensive animal husbandry.”
Many countries have already taken action to reduce the use of antibiotics in food-producing animals. For example, since 2006, the European Union has banned the use of antibiotics for growth promotion. Consumers are also driving the demand for meat raised without routine use of antibiotics, with some major food chains adopting “antibiotic-free” policies for their meat supplies.
Alternative options to using antibiotics for disease prevention in animals include improving hygiene, better use of vaccination, and changes in animal housing and husbandry practices.
Source
www.who.int/mediacentre/
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Paul Toplis
AB Neo
28 de noviembre de 2017
Gwyn Jones, UK RUMA chairman, says: The WHO Guidelines on Use of Medically Important Antimicrobials in Food-Producing Animals published today (7 November) are largely consistent with the UK’s direction of travel. Our farming industry has a clear strategy in place and has rapidly achieved reductions of 27% in sales of antibiotics for food-producing animals within two years. This includes significant falls in sales of highest priority antibiotics, and exceeds a major government target two years early [1]. Furthermore, a demanding set of targets for each of the key livestock sectors has just been announced [2], designed to further reduce, refine and replace use of antibiotics in farm animals while safeguarding their welfare. So while the WHO Guidelines are consistent with some aspects of the current UK strategy, they also expose important differences between the global and the European – and specifically the UK – position. For example: • all antibiotics for animal treatment require a prescription in the UK and use for growth promotion was banned over 10 years ago; many countries globally do not yet have these curbs. • UK government and RUMA follow the European Medicines Agency guidelines [3] on CIA definitions because they identify the degree of risk to human health should antimicrobial resistance develop after use in animals; WHO does not consider this. • the UK, with its high regard for animal welfare, observes a ‘One Health’ approach focused on the best outcomes for people, animals, and the environment [4]; WHO focuses on human health. We know some practices in veterinary medicine, as in human medicine, cannot continue. For example, RUMA does not support the routine preventive use of antibiotics where disease challenge can be prevented by better husbandry and farm management [5]. But we also recognise that time, investment and support are needed to make long-term sustainable changes without harming animal welfare. This means the WHO guidelines, especially based on what the WHO admits is low or very low quality evidence, are neither compatible with the UK’s priorities, nor necessary given recent progress. [1] Record low for sales of antibiotics for use in animals, Defra https://www.gov.uk/government/news/record-low-for-sales-of-antibiotics-for-use-in-animals & Veterinary Antimicrobial Resistance and Sales Surveillance 2016, VMD https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/veterinary-antimicrobial-resistance-and-sales-surveillance-2016 [2] RUMA Targets Task Force http://www.ruma.org.uk/industry-task-force-announces-new-farm-antibiotic-targets/ [3] RUMA adopts European Medicines Agency ‘highest priority’ antibiotics list http://www.ruma.org.uk/ruma-adopts-european-medicines-agency-highest-priority-antibiotics-list/ [4] UK 5 Year Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy 2013 to 2018 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-5-year-antimicrobial-resistance-strategy-2013-to-2018 [5] RUMA position statement on the preventive use of antibiotics in farm animals http://www.ruma.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/RUMA-preventive-use-statement-final-2013.docx
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Santiago Sievert Garcia
28 de noviembre de 2017
Let's all face it! The purpose of antibiotics is for curative/therapeutic use in both humans and animals. While we, in animal production, cannot totally disregard antibiotics in our production systems, we should be cognizant of their consequential effects in the human food chain based on meat, milk, and egg products. Our responsibility to provide safe and uncontaminated food products is foremost in our decisions to the use of antibiotics, These products should only be availed of as therapeutic agents for the specific diseases we face following the specified dosages and keeping in mind the period for the elimination of the drug before any processing or slaughtering of animals or their products. More emphasis should be focused on biosecurity and management. Healthy animals do not need antibiotics!
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Anna Catharina Berge
Berge Veterinary Consulting
Berge Veterinary Consulting
20 de noviembre de 2017
The key to a production system that does not need antibiotics to have healthy animals, is to correct the disease of the production system. A first step is to identify the areas in the production system that stresses, Tthe animals, does not meet their nutritional needs or social needs. Simply looking for alternative Products to medicate the system is not the right approach. It is important to go in and perform a wholistic audit of the production system, and correct the underlying weaknesses and flaws prior to turning to alternatives. There are many good alternatives to antibiotics, but these really need to be used within an antimcrobial reduction program. Reduction of antimicrobial use will lead to a healthier production system, where we do not try to adapt the animals to our systems, but we adapt the systems to the animals.
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Stephen Adejoro Dr
Soavet
13 de noviembre de 2017

What a fantastic public health good if it could be implemented in Africa, today most of the prescribed feed grade and polysubstrate antibiotics find their ways to Africa, which is most unethical.

Recent study completed and concluded by this author on a neonate nutraceutical from France was used in preshipment and as probiotics on just one day or 2 days for broiler with a control not on the product.

The result was outstanding in trials such that all through the rearing phase of 42 days no antibiotics was used, as against repeated use of antibiotic in the control production and profitability analysis established for trials and control with very efficient results for the test trials than in the control.

Besides our study of using thus product as a hydrating agent for chick transportation ton long distant shipment over 100 kilometers increased ability by 1.6% over chicks so transported without the hydrating agent.

Such products even with better production indexes ands profitability analysis should be encouraged to replace antibiotic in other to minimise human resistances
Interested projects that are interested in the production and profitability analysis of this unique product should contact livestock industry foundation for Africa at lifango48@gmail .com and copy soavet@ yahoo.com.

 Attention. Dr. Stephen Adejoro

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Andrey Didukh
17 de noviembre de 2017
Some big poultry producers in Ukraine are successfully introducing phytobiotics like AdiCox Sol or powder form for the prophylactic of subclinical coccidiosis in turkey and layers. In higher dose liquid form also showed an efficacy during clinical outbreak. Good management and biosecurity are extremely important for the best results.
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Ssekatawa Charles
14 de noviembre de 2017

I like the topic.
I was overwhelmed with the results that our farmers got when we introduced them to phytobiotics. Natural growth promoters like Sangrovit should be embraced by all African countries. Good management, proper biosecurity, hygiene, trained employees and Sangrovit in feed and water (these are ideal candidates for antibiotics).
Charles ssekatawa, Uganda

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Tony GO
Tesgo International BV
13 de noviembre de 2017

The Netherlands recognized the problems of Antimicrobial Resistance in Human and animals and reduced drastically the usage of antibiotics as growth promoters.
The alternative is to stimulate the Immune system by immune stimulants like Nucleotides, Phytogenics, and SCFA and MCFA specialties.

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Sataluri Satagopa Raja Ayyangar
Synergy Biorefineries Pvt
13 de noviembre de 2017
The use of antibiotics definitely causes failure of self immune system not only for animals and birds, but also the same harm for men .Every body should think and collect information from various countries about natural systems with Herbals , Essential oils etc.With the latest technology and equipment available research is to be carried and to be implemented . Garlic ,Clove oil ,Turmeric ,Ginger ,Nux vomica ,Ajowan ,Thymol ,,Marijuna ,Bakuchi seeds ,Citronella etc are more competent for developing immune system and deal specific harmful bacteria . Research to be carried which herb deals and attack the bacteria . Our fore fathers never got Cancer and other viruses due to healthy environment .
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Ravindran V S
Caprienzymes
13 de noviembre de 2017
It was quiet interesting topic that you have sent. We agree that antibiotics should have alternatives in the natural way, traditional science informs from Chinese, Taoist, Tibetians all suggest to use products mostly based on herbal extracts for the animal nutrition, poultry and aqua industries. We are exploring more on the possiblities of alternative to antibiotics. If you could suggest some of ideas relation with alternative to antibiotics it will be quiet useful for our further studies. -V.S.Ravindran
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