Veterinarians want data, targets for antimicrobial use

Veterinarians in North America and Europe are under pressure to reduce antimicrobial administration on swine farms. Determining which uses are judicious and measuring outcomes are difficult, according to speakers at a March 3-6 meeting of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians in San Diego. They described challenges related to collecting data that could be used to set policy and link changes in antimicrobial use with outcomes in prevalence of drug resistance, as well as those related to policymaking swayed more by opinion than research.Dr. Mark White, an independent pig veterinary consultant, clinician, and president of the Pig Veterinary Society of the British Veterinary Association, said he has attended years of hostile meetings of other groups on antimicrobial use and questions on which ones are appropriate. He noted that public figures in medicine and politics, in Europe and the U.S., have warned of a post-antimicrobial apocalypse, nightmare bacteria, and deaths by common infections. At a policy level, the debate has shifted from a scientific one to a sociopolitical one, he said."We've got to reduce, we've got to refine, we've got to replace the use of antibiotics in farm animals," he said.For swine veterinarians, those changes need to occur while preserving pig health, Dr. White said."Whatever we're going to do—reducing, refining, replacing, using antibiotics more responsibly—that's another term that's thrown about—but the bottom line is reducing how much we use," he said. "We will have to do that without damaging pig health and welfare, without damaging productivity, and, obviously, without damaging the supply chain."