The appearance in human
pathogens of multiple resistance to
antibiotics has focused attention on
both human and veterinary use of
these valuable medicines.
“
”
The development of resistance
can be minimised provided
that a number of measures
are observed to prolong the
useful life of all antibiotics in
both human and veterinary
medicine. Antibiotic use should
be limited to situations where
they are needed and the
selection of the right antibiotic
should take a number of
factors into account.
Antibiotic use should not be
seen to be an excuse to practice
good animal management,
animal welfare, husbandry,
hygiene, nutrition, immunology
and vaccination. Diseases must
be controlled to reduce the
need for antibiotic use and
they can only be controlled
successfully by an holistic
approach.
The British Small Animal
Veterinary Association and
Royal College of Veterinary
Surgeons have recommended
an approach to antibiotic
prescribing which aims to save
the more effective antibiotics
in human medicine as second
line drugs in veterinary species
to try to reduce resistance
development in animals. The
impact of this is that vets will
often only prescribe certain
antibiotics after performing
certain culture and sensitivity
tests and although this may
add expense to treatment,
it will allow much more
targeted antibiotic
therapies for shorter courses
so reducing the development
of resistant bacteria.
Vets may avoid oral/injectable
antibiotics where topical
treatment with creams and
shampoos will suffice. In order
to perform surgical procedures,
our practices spend significant
sums of money on aseptic
control of infection (avoiding
the animals own bacteria
contaminating its own wounds
through the use of skin
disinfection, sterile surgical
gloves, gowns, instrumentation
and sterile surgical environment)
to be able to minimise antibiotic
use and many operations will
be performed without the need
for any antibiotics.
Other considerations should
be to use antibiotics based on
the likely bacteria causing the
specific disease and early on in
the disease course, obtaining
cultures and sensitivities for
specific treatment. Effective
treatment relies on the correct
diagnosis, the right antibiotic
to be chosen and to be given
for long enough to treat the
problem. It is vital that if
antibiotics are prescribed they
are administered strictly
according to the instructions
of the vet.
