New federal regulations will require all antimicrobials used in animals be under the oversight of a registered veterinarian and will require a medical record and prescription be generated prior to their purchase.

The intention of this initiative is to address the development of antimicrobial resistance which has recently been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be an urgent global concern.

Antimicrobial resistance happens when micro-organisms such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites change when they are exposed to antimicrobial drugs. Antimicrobial drugs include antibiotics, anti-fungal, anti-viral and anti-parasitic agents. Antibiotics are only one of many drugs that belong to the class of antimicrobials, although the two terms, antibiotics and antimicrobials, are often used interchangeably to mean the same thing. Micro-organisms that develop antimicrobial resistance are sometimes referred to as ‘superbugs.’ As a result, the medicines become ineffective. Health-care professionals, both in human and animal health rely on antimicrobials to treat, prevent and control infections.

The WHO is leading multiple initiatives to reduce antimicrobial use and address antimicrobial resistance in order to avoid the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance. This includes optimal use of antibiotics in both humans and animals.

In accordance with the WHO, federal regulatory bodies such as Health Canada recognizes that only veterinarians operating within a veterinary-client-patient relationship (VCPR) have the necessary training to assess the health of the animals and to diagnose disease conditions. By determining the need for antimicrobial treatment, veterinarians can ensure that the right antibiotics at the correct doses are prescribed and administered to effectively manage disease in animals.

So what does this mean for the individual horse owner? In the past, farm and ranch supply stores have been licensed to sell a variety of over-the-counter (OTC) animal health products, including antimicrobials such as procaine penicillin G and tetracyclines. However, effective as of December 1, 2018 the status of these and other antimicrobials will be added to the federal veterinary prescription drug list.

With these new regulations in place animal owners will no longer be able to visit a veterinary practice or medicine outlet (such as a farm supply store or feed mill) to pick up antibiotics for treating sick animals, as has been done in the past without first establishing a valid veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR). The VCPR is necessary to establish a need for antibiotics and generate a prescription. A prescription is a direction issued by a registered veterinarian that an animal or group of animals be treated with a specified drug at a specified dose for a specified period of time for treatment of a specified condition. In order to issue a prescription, a veterinarian must document that a valid VCPR exists.

The limits of the VCPR will vary with the experience level of both the veterinarian and the animal owner. Each situation will be different and will depend on the veterinarian’s professional judgment and the presenting circumstances of the animal or group of animals in question. However, in general all animal owners, including horse owners, will notice a greater degree of vigilance from the veterinarian and their support staff in establishing a VCPR prior to the purchase of antibiotics.

Initial contact will begin with a conversation between the animal owner and the veterinarian. The veterinarian will ask questions in order to establish and document a medical record which then determines whether or not there is sufficient need for the use of an antibiotic. It will be at the veterinarian’s discretion as to whether or not “sufficient” need has been established. Circumstances will vary. At times a picture, or short video of, or email about the animal may suffice. Under other circumstances clinical examination of the animal(s) by the veterinarian may be the requirement necessary to fully establish sufficient knowledge of the animal(s) on which to base the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of the medical condition.

The upcoming federal regulations and policy changes will also address the personal importation of medically important antibiotics through avenues that existed in the past such as online purchases.

As part of a global community we all have a role to play in the stewardship and prudent use of medically important antimicrobials. This includes a better understanding of the reasons why regulatory changes are taking place and allows all stakeholders to maintain the highest-quality care for both humans and animals.

The post Handle antibiotics with care appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

After that date, you’ll need a vet’s prescription to buy virtually any antibiotic needed on the farm, as all over-the-counter purchases are prohibited.

Glenboro veterinarian Dr. Wayne Tomlinson was at the District 9 meeting of Manitoba Beef Producers to hammer home that message last week — lest anyone hasn’t heard it.

By now, most should know the veterinary-client-patient-relationship (VCPR) is critical to be able to buy these medicines, as veterinarians fulfil their obligations for oversight of all medically important antimicrobials, Tomlinson said, adding he expected most attending that meeting do.

It’s the few who don’t yet know, and are in for a shock, that’s the worry.

“Because the last thing that we want as veterinarians, and the last thing that Manitoba Beef Producers wants, is a whole bunch of calls from somebody who’s been driving down the road and seeing a whole bunch of sick and limping animals that aren’t being treated well… and the producer saying, ‘yeah, but I couldn’t buy any penicillin for them.’”

Tomlinson’s talk reiterated Canada’s obligations to preserve the efficacy of antimicrobials in veterinary and human medicine, as part of the federal framework for action on antimicrobial resistance and use in Canada. Veterinary oversight of all medically important antimicrobials given to animals in their feed or water has been required since December 2016 as part of that action plan.

Health Canada’s intent “is not to pick on beef producers or swine producers,” he said. Rather it’s part of Canada’s overall commitment and effort to reduce use of antimicrobials important to humans in treating livestock and companion animals. That’s part of a much larger, global effort to slow the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). It’s in the interest of the livestock industry to preserve the efficacy of antimicrobials, said Tomlinson.

“Health Canada believes we can attain the same level of animal welfare and use less antibiotics,” he said, adding it’s an approach focused on ‘right drug for the right reason for the right patient (at the) right dose, right time, for right duration with the right records.

“Like I said at the start, antibiotics, according to Health Canada, are a privilege. They’re not a right. And they’re not afraid, if we can’t look after them properly, to take this privilege away from us.”

What’s absolutely key right now is that every producer knows this new approach means that after Dec. 1 no more over-the-counter sales of any medically important antimicrobials are permitted — and that if and when they do require prescriptions they can only get them from a veterinarian with whom they have that formalized, working relationship.

The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) defines a legitimate VCPR as supported by evidence of “relevant and timely interactions with clients and their animals such as farm visits, clinic appointments, consultations, individual animal or herd examinations, lab reports or production record reviews, sufficient to show the veterinarian has taken the steps necessary to establish medical need to prescribe and dispense pharmaceuticals.”

These protocols will not reduce access to antimicrobials nor limit what people can keep on hand, Tomlinson stressed. Prescriptions will also make provision for refills as before.

“If you have a prescription you can get it filled anywhere they’re sold… it doesn’t have to be the person who wrote it.”

But there will be no more over-the-counter sales of any medically important antimicrobial, and veterinary oversight is tightening, requiring all clinical veterinarians now additionally write out a script of their diagnoses and prescribed treatments and provide same to the client, as well.

His ‘take-home message’ Tomlinson stressed repeatedly is make sure you have that VCPR to ensure continued access to prescriptions when needed.

“This is all about public trust.”

Lake Francis beef producer Dianne Riding, District 9 director and secretary at last week’s meeting said MBP does not want to see anyone left uninformed about all of this.

“Most already do know they have to have that VCPR but we still have some who do not,” she said.

“We’re hoping tonight that those who have come will go back and tell their neighbours ‘we’re not going to lose our drugs. We just need to go and work with our veterinarians.’”

The Beef Cattle Research Council will host a webinar on November 14 to go delve into the details around what working with the vet means, purchasing medicated feed and understanding the facts about antibiotic use and resistance in Canadian beef cattle. More information or to register is found on its website.

The post Vet stresses need for veterinary-client-patient-relationship (VCPR) by Dec. 1 appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

That group says the committee report, which aims to preserve the continued effectiveness of human medicines contains useful recommendations and recognizes steps already taken by vets and farm groups.

It also sets out constructive measures the government could take to ensure that the launch of its Pan-Canadian Framework for tackling AMR in December is successful, the CVMA said in a statement.

Those proposals include appointing a champion to lead the AMR prevention campaign within the government as well as among the public.

Also welcome were committee calls for the Public Health Agency of Canada to develop ways to scale up the existing best practices for preventing the spread of AMR. The agency should also expand the existing Canadian Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System to improve the available data on AMR problems in Canada.

These two recommendations are supportive of the stewardship and surveillance initiatives that CVMA and livestock groups have undertaken to reduce AMR through improved antimicrobial stewardship and surveillance in animals, the association said.

Canada supports an international campaign to reduce the use of human crucial medicines in treating livestock and companion animals to try to slow the spread of AMR. Without action, the World Health Organization fears 10 million people could die annually by 2050 from diseases resistant to existing medicines, surpassing the deaths from cancer.

Health Canada says antimicrobials “are an essential tool against infections in both humans and animals, but they are losing their effectiveness more quickly than we are identifying and developing new drugs or other treatments.”

While the committee’s report primarily focuses on human health, “there are clear links to animal health and veterinary medicine,” CVMA said. The Pan-Canadian Framework has “to develop concrete ways to reduce the use of antimicrobials through prudent use.”

Earlier this year CVMA and feed mill operators announced plans to reduce the use of medicine in livestock feeds but to collect the data that shows the progress. This will complement federal rules that allow medicines to be administered to livestock under veterinary supervision and end the importation of antimicrobial drugs to treat sick animals. Feed mills need to be involved so they supply treated feed only when needed.

Duane Landals, CVMA past president, said a lot of work remains on collecting data on the use of medicine in livestock production and educating vets and producers on the new system designed to help prevent the spread of AMR in human medicines.

CVMA is currently leading the creation of practical tools to assist veterinarians in the prudent use of antimicrobials for swine, poultry, beef, dairy, small ruminants and companion animals.

It is also developing a pilot veterinary AMU surveillance initiative that focuses initially on animal feed.

In 2017, CVMA published standards for provincial and territorial veterinary licensing bodies when developing their own regulations, guidelines, or bylaws relating to veterinarians’ professional responsibilities in providing oversight of use of antimicrobials in animals. It includes a call for Health Canada to improve “access to alternative therapies for food animals, such as probiotics, to reduce the use of antimicrobials in food animals.”… proposals include appointing a champion to lead the AMR prevention campaign within the government as well as among the public.

The post Veterinarians back key recommendations on combating antimicrobial resistance appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

The official from the United Nations’ food agency issued the warning on the sidelines of an international meeting in Bangkok focused on antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

• Read more: Stop using antibiotics in healthy animals, WHO urges farmers

FAO’s Chief Veterinary Officer Juan Lubroth told Reuters in Bangkok that threat of AMR was magnified in places, like Asia’s mega-cities, where there was high population growth and intense food and agriculture production.

“Here in Southeast Asia… we would consider it a hot spot because of the population growth, urbanization dynamics, the production of food,” Lubroth told Reuters.

A report published Jan. 29 by the World Health Organization said that a new global surveillance system had found widespread occurrence of antibiotic resistance among 500,000 people with suspected bacterial infections across 22 countries.

“Some of the world’s most common – and potentially most dangerous – infections are proving drug resistant,” Marc Sprenger, director of WHO’s Antimicrobial Resistance Secretariat, said in a statement.

A 2016 report by economist Jim O’Neill, commissioned by the British government, projects US$100 trillion in losses by 2050 if nothing is done to reverse the trend, and estimated that the annual toll resulting from AMR will climb to 10 million deaths in the next 35 years.

“Ninety per cent of those deaths would be in the developing world, and that is scary,” Lubroth said.

He said the FAO advocates educating farmers about the dangers of using antibiotics to promote growth in animals, and stronger enforcement of rules governing food production.

“It’s not only about having the rules in black and white, they need to be applied.”

The post Southeast Asia a ‘hot spot’ for antibiotic abuse appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Health Canada is tightening regulations on own-use importation, a practice allowing producers to buy approved drugs in the United States and carry them into Canada.

As of Nov. 13, that list of approved drugs will change. The new list is incoming, Health Canada says, but has yet not been released.

Own-use imports were a handy tool for beef producers to keep costs down when a drug was approved and available on both sides of the border, said Brian Lemon, Manitoba Beef Producers general manager, who noted the U.S. version of the drugs was frequently significantly lower cost. Now those measures are up in the air, he told the Co-operator.

“The issue here is that list of drugs where that was available to producers was being redone,” Lemon said. “Basically, the industry had to re-apply, so they wiped everything off the list and the industry had to re-apply to get items put back on the list.”

Producer groups or individuals may petition for a drug to be included. Prescription drugs do not qualify, according to Health Canada, nor do drugs meant to be blended with animal feed or any that contain “medically important antimicrobials” (drugs deemed important for human use). Likewise, the drug must be approved in its home country, have maximum residue limits set in Canada, have a comparable drug approved in Canada and have no unresolved safety issues in either its home country or Canada.

The beef industry is one of several sectors expected to feel the impact of the new rules, which will affect any food-producing animals or animals bound for human consumption, as well as horses.

The Manitoba Beef Producers has been told there will be no gap between the old list expiring and the new list coming into effect, Lemon said.

More in 2018

The move is part of national efforts against antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the fear that critical human medications are becoming less effective against adapting bacteria.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has already raised the alarm, citing concern that increased resistance may cause treatment to become ineffective against a range of diseases (including tuberculosis, HIV and malaria) and cause problems with organ transplants, chemotherapy and surgeries, among other issues. The WHO estimates about 480,000 cases of antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis appear each year across the world, while several countries have noted increased resistance in E. coli, leading to ineffective treatment in more that half of diagnosed urinary tract infections in those regions.

The problem has been linked to overprescription in human medicine, although agriculture has also felt the push to cut down on antibiotic use.

Canadian plan

In 2015, Canada threw support behind the WHO’s Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance. As part of that, the federal government committed to develop its own national action plan.

“Tackling Antimicrobial Resis­tance and Antimicrobial Use: A Pan-Canadian Framework for Action” was released in September.

Agriculture has already begun to move on tighter antimicrobial policy, driven by social, market and trade pressures, the report noted.

“To address the challenges of AMR, effective treatments and management approaches must be further implemented to demonstrate appropriate use of antimicrobials in order to ensure the health and welfare of animals, preserve and ensure a safe food supply and keep livestock producers competitive,” the document reads, in part.

“It’s all related to the scare on the human health side of things where some important drugs are increasingly becoming less and less effective,” Lemon said. “Across the board, many of the same drugs that are used in animal agriculture are used in human health and so it’s really about really trying to put more rigour around the use of those important drugs.”

Health Canada estimates that 73 per cent of drugs prescribed for animals are also used for humans.

Sector impacts

The Chicken Farmers of Canada is partway through its three-phase plan to limit antibiotics. In 2014, the organization phased out Category 1 antibiotics, those considered the most critical for human health. High- and medium-importance antibiotics will be phased out over the next three years, leaving farmers access to only low-importance drugs by 2020.

• Read more: McDonald’s to start cutting global antibiotic use in chickens

Beekeepers have also come up against the issue. Apiarists in Manitoba and in other provinces have protested incoming rules, which would require them to have a veterinarian prescription for certain antibiotics.

Allan Campbell of the Manitoba Beekeepers’ Association expressed concern earlier this year, citing veterinarians’ relative lack of beekeeping knowledge.

“Virtually every veterinarian knows nothing at all about bees, so on the one hand, yeah, they know drugs; they know antibiotics, but if they don’t know the animal, then it’s kind of disturbing,” he said.

The beef industry will come up against a similar dilemma. As of Dec. 1, 2018, any medically important antimicrobials, including in-water drugs or medicated feed, will need to be checked off by a veterinarian.

Labels will no longer mention a drug’s use for growth promotion or related instructions, while responsible use statements will be added.

“I don’t think at the end of the day it’s going to have a huge impact on the industry. That’s what we’re hearing,” Lemon said. “It’s going to take some time to figure out and let the dust settle. For those producers who maybe didn’t have regular relationships with a vet, it’s going to require that they establish relationships with vets and have a vet on-side that can come out and do the herd health and be comfortable to actually write the prescription.”

The post Import changes looming for veterinary drugs appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Describing a lack of effective antibiotics for humans as “a security threat” on a par with “a sudden and deadly disease outbreak”, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said “strong and sustained action across all sectors” was vital to turn back the tide of resistance and “keep the world safe”.

The 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,” the United Nations agency said in a statement.

Any use of antibiotics promotes the development and spread of so-called superbugs — multi-drug-resistant infections that can evade the medicines designed to kill them.

According to the WHO’s statement, in some countries, around 80 percent of total consumption of medically important antibiotics is in the animal sector. They are largely used in healthy animals to stop them getting sick and to speed up their growth.

The WHO said such use should be halted completely. In sick animals, it added, wherever possible, tests should first be conducted to determine the most effective and prudent antibiotic to treat their specific infection.

Some countries have already taken action to reduce the use of antibiotics in food-producing animals. The European Union has since 2006 banned the use of the drugs for growth promotion.

Consumers are also driving a demand for meat raised without routine use of antibiotics, with some major food chains adopting ‘antibiotic-free’ policies for meat supplies.

The WHO said alternatives to using antibiotics for disease prevention in animals include improving hygiene and farming practices, and making better use of vaccines.

The post Stop using antibiotics in healthy animals, WHO urges farmers appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

This article will highlight some of the key points on how well the cattle industry is doing so far and predict what changes veterinarians may make in their recommendations going forward. For those of you who crave more detailed information, there are several very good brochures and websites that give very factual and current information on the subject.

This is important when we are trying to explain to the average urbanite how the entire industry is really following the guidelines about prudent usage of antimicrobials.

• Beef 911: Vaccinating young calves
• Beef 911: Assess the risk when bringing in calves

We hear the public and industry talking about terms like ‘raised without antibiotics.’ This has severe ramifications from an animal welfare perspective. Simply stated, it is the reason we have established withdrawal periods by law so there are no antibiotic or other drug residues from things such as NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) or vaccines in our meat or milk.

The best brochure I have seen is Worried about Antibiotic Use and Resistance in Cattle? put out by the Alberta Beef Producers. (It can be downloaded at www.albertabeef.org by searching for ‘worried about antibiotic use.’) It explains the four main categories of antimicrobials. Category 1 is for antibiotics with very high importance in human medicine and the brochure gives examples of ones we use for cattle, such as Excede or Baytril.

The ‘very high’ and ‘high’ importance categories make up less than two per cent of the antimicrobials used in cattle production. There is also a big difference in the classes of antibiotics used for humans versus those used in cattle. But we must still think twice before we use them and only use Category 1 drugs for treatment of severe medical conditions such as severe pneumonia. Veterinarians continually advise using the least critical category that is still likely to work on the condition at hand.

They are also doing more culture and sensitivity tests during autopsies, especially when in cases where the animal did not respond to drugs that previously worked. This allows a lab to grow the bacteria causing the illness and uses little discs impregnated with antibiotics to actually see which ones work. This is a much better scientific approach to treatment and should provide a higher success rate. (But since these tests take a couple of days, veterinarians have to prescribe treatments based on previous protocols and success rates in the meantime.)

The possibility of resistant bacteria moving from cattle to humans is very remote because of the very few drugs used in Category 1 plus the fact that resistant bacteria would need to get through the packing plant and all the precautions used (such as steam sterilization, UV light and a very clean environment) through the cooking process and into a person. And then the person would have to have that particular antibiotic prescribed by the doctor. This is a very unlikely chain of events.

There is now a research cluster involving head researcher Dr. Tim McCallister and researchers from the cattle industry and veterinary colleges looking at all these potential pathways to make sure all possibilities have been looked at. This alone is very positive evidence the industry is doing its due diligence to protect livestock production and people.

There’s a great quote from veterinarian Dr. Craig Dorin of Airdrie: “It is our privilege and not our right to be able to use antibiotics in the animals we take care of.”

All the surveillance we are doing in the industry has found drug resistance levels to be very low in beef. That doesn’t mean they can’t increase and generally, if resistance is found, the bacteria are resistant to most antibiotics in the same family of drugs. Veterinarians know this and will prescribe a different family of antibiotics if need be.

This year, your veterinarian will be much more involved with antimicrobials used in production animal medicine, especially those that were non-prescription (for the most part) and administered in feed or water. More than 75 per cent of the drugs are used in feed, so enhanced oversight at this level is where you as a producer will see the most changes. These are all steps that will be positive in reducing antibiotic usage where possible and using the most effective ones for the condition at hand.

The first thing removed from antibiotic labelling is the growth promotant indications, which are coming off this year. It is true that reduced disease incidence typically leads to increased growth as a secondary benefit — but now your veterinarian will have to have a medical reason to prescribe.

The Beef Cattle Research Council has another excellent resource at www.beefre search.ca/amr. This contains clear information as well as a clearly laid-out, seven-minute video that everyone in the cattle industry should watch. We need to get back to management practices that we know will minimize sickness and hence antibiotic usage. This includes calves receiving adequate quality and quantity of colostrum (colostrum is the best ‘drug’ one can use), low-stress weaning, and pre-immunization of calves up to two weeks before weaning. As well, satellite and Internet sales eliminate lots of commingling.

All these practices can definitely reduce the usage of antimicrobials. I know that’s easier said than done, but the potential for reduction in antimicrobial usage is great.

As well, pharmaceutical companies are now focusing more and more on vaccinology so you will see broader-coverage vaccines for viruses and bacteria. Intranasal vaccines can provide quicker coverage, and technology has (and will continue to) improve the degree of immunity and length of coverage over time.

The future will most likely see more vaccines replacing antimicrobials. It is far better to prevent by management and vaccination than treat with antibiotics. To combat resistance, veterinary communities will focus on four things: Prevention, Production, Control, and Therapy.

Also, use parasite treatments as reducing parasites in your herd will also stimulate cattle’s natural immune system. This, along with proper nutrition, minimizes sickness.

Another good resource is the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association website. It is interactive and there are some quizzes you can take to test your knowledge. The questions you get wrong become an educating experience.

I encourage you all to check out these resources — and tell the public that we in the cattle industry are doing the right thing and helping in the global battle against antimicrobial resistance.

Generally speaking, we are already doing a good job but there is always room for improvement. So question your veterinarian and ask yourself if there is a better way if antimicrobial usage seems too frequent on your operation.

Responsible antibiotic usage is not about residues — we already do a fantastic job at that. It is about using the right drug for the right bug and for the right length of time.

Take pride in the fact the cattle industry is in many ways taking the lead and the medical profession can learn a lot from what you do. Tell your story.

The post Beef 911: The facts about the dangers of antibiotic resistance appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

The guidelines were developed by the Veterinary Pharmaceutical Stewardship Advisory Group of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, in collaboration with the Canadian Council of Veterinary Registrars (CCVR) and after discussions with government officials and animal health organizations.

“Canadian veterinarians have a national and international responsibility to protect public health by contributing to the fight against antimicrobial resistance,” CVMA president Troy Bourque said. “By working towards harmonizing veterinary oversight of antimicrobial use in Canada, we are optimizing our stewardship practices in animal and public health, maintaining access to and effectiveness of antimicrobials for the treatment and prevention of disease in animals and upholding to the integrity of the veterinary profession.”

He described the guidelines as a template of professional standards, which may be used by provincial and territorial veterinary regulatory bodies when developing their own regulations, guidelines, or bylaws relating to veterinarians’ professional responsibilities in providing oversight of veterinary antimicrobial use. It is intended to lead to consistent regulations across the country.

The framework spells out the professional obligations for veterinarians in prescribing an antimicrobial drug and comes in advance of federal regulations to increase government oversight of antimicrobials use in food production.

Health Minister Jane Philpott says the government wants to finalize its proposals for reforming the use of antibiotics in livestock production so they would be in effect this fall.

Without change, deaths linked to diseases that become resistant to modern medicines could outstrip those caused by cancer by 2050, she adds.

She did acknowledge that the livestock sector “is ahead of the regulations.”

Her policy lines up with measures animal health and livestock groups have already recommended to reduce AMR.

“We’ll tighten the regulations on the use of antimicrobials in agriculture,” Philpott said.

At the top of her list is ending own-use imports of many veterinary drugs by farmers. She also highlighted requiring prescriptions for all veterinary medicines and ending growth promotional claims. It’s generally expected the changes would come into effect during 2017.

The framework will guide veterinarians in meeting federal regulations when they’re enacted. It covers diagnosing, prescribing, using antimicrobials, dispensing, maintaining medical records and other stewardship requirements, the CVMA says.

In addition, the framework makes recommendations on outstanding issues such as surveillance of antimicrobial use and distribution, and continuing education opportunities for veterinary professionals on antimicrobial stewardship.

The veterinary profession in Canada will continue to be engaged in discussions on the oversight of the use of veterinary antimicrobials at provincial and national levels, Bourque said.

The framework says veterinary oversight is a key element of antimicrobial stewardship.

“It encompasses the professional involvement of licensed veterinarians in providing guidance or direction for appropriate use of antimicrobials in animals with the objective of ensuring prudent use and minimizing the emergence or spread of antimicrobial resistance.”

Vets need to be at the forefront of preventing and controlling the spread of antimicrobial-resistant infections, maintaining access to effective antimicrobials for animal health, improving animal health and welfare, consumer confidence, and public safety and meeting of phytosanitary standards involving trade, the framework says.

Vets are provincially regulated by bodies that are supposed to provide consistent oversight of the prescribing and dispensing of medicines and take action when vets act inappropriately.

The federal plan aims to eliminate unnecessary antimicrobial use, improving standards of use when these drugs are necessary and improving animal health to reduce the need for antimicrobials.

Health Canada says more than three-quarters of antimicrobials are sold for treating animals including pets. “Of these, approximately 90 per cent are used to promote growth or to guard against disease and infection. Globally, the use of antimicrobials in food-producing animals continues to rise, from just over 63,000 tons in 2010 to well over a projected 100,000 tons by 2030. In Canada alone it is estimated that 1.6 million kilograms of antimicrobials were distributed for animal use in 2013.”

The post Veterinary association sets framework for medicine oversight appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

That’s the heart of a new strategy to treat bacterial diseases in humans and animals, curbing their virulence rather than using antibiotics to wipe out the bacteria that causes them, and possibly contributing to the mushrooming challenge of antimicrobial resistance, or AMR.

The goal of the strategy is to prevent bacteria from developing resistance to medicines, says Natalie Strynadka, a biochemistry professor at the University of British Columbia. She is part of a team of researchers working on AMR under the auspices of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

“Bacteria are very clever when they encounter something attempting to stop them,” she said.

With enough exposure to medicines, it’s inevitable bacteria will develop AMR. That’s why researchers are looking at ways to prevent their overuse.

“It’s fair to say the best strategy is to reduce any use of antimicrobials in humans or animals,” she said. “The less you use, the better off we’ll be in the long term.”

Treatments would enable the human or animal to become healthy enough to recover from the disease. The use of antimicrobials in aquaculture also needs to be closely scrutinized.

Her comments came as health and livestock groups wait for an announcement from Health Minister Jane Philpott on how her department will implement proposals for reforming the use of antibiotics in livestock production.

In October, she told the Canadian Meat Council she wants to act on the plan this fall. Without change, deaths linked to diseases that become resistant to modern medicines could outstrip those caused by cancer by 2050, Philpott told the recent annual meeting of the Canadian Meat Council.

In mid-November, she announced that Canada is investing a $9-million investment in a World Health Organization project to develop a comprehensive global approach to combating AMR. The funds will support the WHO — working with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Organization of Animal Health — in developing a global package of initiatives that will address the human, animal, agricultural and environmental aspects of the fight against AMR.

Overuse of important antimicrobials in humans and animals has been blamed for the growth in AMR. Strynadka says both aspects of the problem are important and need to be addressed.

“We need to look at how much of the medicines end up in our water.”

Researchers are looking for weak spots in bacteria that have developed AMR that might be able to be exploited by tweaking medicines, she added.

“We have a gap of 20 years when no medicines were developed by the pharmaceutical industry because everyone thought we had all we needed,” she said.

She also said there needs to be more collaboration among government, drug makers, the medical community, veterinarians and farmers on combating AMR. “We need to find where a better effort would be most productive.”

While the livestock industry in Canada has worked to reduce its use of class one and two medicines, the most important to humans, no farmer wants to let his or her animals or poultry suffer needlessly when treatment is available, she noted. “We have to acknowledge that it’s more expensive to raise livestock without using antimicrobials.”

Most agri-food groups expect Health Canada will implement previously announced proposals from animal health and livestock groups. They include ending own-use imports by farmers of livestock drugs from the United States, requiring veterinary supervision of all prescription medicines used on farms and ending growth promotional claims.

Public Health Agency says AMR is one of the most serious public health threats to the treatment of infectious diseases worldwide. If action is not taken now, annual worldwide human deaths due to antimicrobial resistance could reach an estimated 10 million by 2050, overtaking deaths due to diabetes and cancer combined.

The post AMR challenge results in new strategy appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

The Public Health Agency announced last year that Health Canada’s Veterinary Drugs Directorate would introduce new regulations requiring veterinary oversight of antibiotics used in food animals, such as those administered in water and feed.

Health Canada is now asking for industry input on the proposed changes, including tougher rules around the quality of active ingredients, increased monitoring of drug sales and restrictions on the importation of some veterinary drugs.

“I think this is a historic process, it is dramatic,” said Prescott, co-chair of the Ad Hoc Committee for Antimicrobial Stewardship in Canadian Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine. “It will reduce the use of antibiotics to when the benefits are really clear and substantial.”

In a summary of the proposed changes, the federal department states that “the overuse and misuse of antimicrobials in animals is a contributing factor to the development and spread of AMR (anti-microbial resistance).”

Prescott agrees. He was one of the many experts gathered in Niagara Falls last week for a Canadian Veterinary Medical Association summit where antimicrobial resistance was a key concern. But while 80 per cent of all antimicrobials used are used in animal agriculture, the professor emeritus of veterinary bacteriology cautioned that the situation should be keep in perspective.

“That sounds like a huge number, but you have to realize there are a lot more animals than humans in Canada,” he said, adding that the Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance has done an excellent job of tracking resistance in Canada, often being the first to identify newly resistant bacterial strains.

More monitoring

Prescott would still like to see more done in terms of data collection and monitoring.

“What we’d really like to see is use data on a farm basis and on a veterinarian basis… how well does farm X compare to farm Y, and if farm X or one particularly veterinarian seems way out of line… it would be very valuable to then tap them on the shoulder and say ‘look, you are out of line here, what’s going on?’” he said.

“If we can track use, we can track resistance because the two are so linked together, if you use more antibiotics you will get more resistance. If you use less you will get less.”

No one at the summit was surprised by the new regulations proposed by Health Canada, which have been in development for several years.

“There is 100 per cent support for the regulatory changes, there is definitely concern with how are these changes going to be implemented and kind of the details around that, but in general the CVMA has been consulting with Health Canada for the last number of years and we do support these regulatory changes,” said the association’s president-elect, Troy Bourque.

Prescott noted the details of the proposed changes must still be finalized and that things feel “a bit chaotic” as industry and government come together to reduce antimicrobial resistance. But he stressed that even if benchmarking and antimicrobial use data still need to be worked on, changes to importation and oversight of ingredients marks a monumental change.

“The whole area is sort of in a ferment at the moment,” he said.

CCA support

Rob McNabb, general manager of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association said, “it is very clear that food animal producers and veterinarians must work together to ensure the prudent use of antimicrobials.”

The association will respond to the Health Canada proposal in the coming weeks, but McNabb said, as they stand, the impact on production practices will be minimal.

“The most direct impact to our industry would be the changes or new restriction on own-use import, and we’ve been recommending that they they create a list of products, which they are now proposing to do,” he said. “They aren’t eliminating it all together, but they do need to have some controls in place.”

He expects that consultations with Health Canada will continue as regulatory changes move forward. The updated regulations are expected to come into effect in late 2017.

The post Regulatory changes would limit farmers’ vet drug imports appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.