“THE battle against Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) involves a change of mindset as well as a change of practices – and Irish vets are actively playing an important role in this fight,” says David MacGuinness, President of Veterinary Ireland. He was delivering the Opening Address at Veterinary Ireland’s annual conference for equine and companion animal vets in Lyrath, Kilkenny (November 8th and 9th).

“The blind use of antibiotics and the unnecessary use of antibiotics are practices which must stop in both human and veterinary medicine. We have to make sure that the most critical antibiotics are preserved for as long as possible by only using them in the most critical cases.”

Change in mindset

Veterinary Ireland ratified its Policy Document on AMR in May 2014 and has been educating and working with veterinary members to drive reductions in AMR prescribing. “We need to raise awareness amongst clients using veterinary services that antibiotics should only be prescribed when other treatments have not worked or will not work. This is a change in mindset.”

Using cultural sensitivity swabs is a practical tool which vets can increasingly use to identify if an antibiotic should be used at all. It gives vets more accurate information about what type of antibiotic should be used, so that if an antibiotic must be used, you reduce the risk of contributing unnecessarily to resistance by using the wrong antibiotic. It also provides layers of protection against wasted use and justification for those occasions when critical antibiotics may need to be used.

‘PROTECT Me: The Rational Use of Antibiotics’ was the subject of the first presentation in a companion animal vet session at the conference on November 8th. It was delivered by Fergus Allerton BSc BVSc CertSAM DipECVIM-CA MRCVS from Willows Referral Service in Solihull who is a European Veterinary Specialist in Small Animal Internal Medicine.

Allerton said that antibiotics have saved millions of human lives over the last 90 years but that the threat from resistant pathogens has grown and is now considered a potentially catastrophic threat to mankind. He quoted the 2016 Review on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), which predicted that by 2050 up to 10 million people could die per year due to drug-resistant infections. “That is a figure which exceeds the current annual global mortality due to cancer,” he said.

He noted that a key tenet is to optimise the use of currently available antibiotics so that their potency can be maintained. “Vets often cite client pressure as the reason for antibiotic prescription while conversely, owners attribute the decision directly to the vet,” he added. “Eliminating unnecessary use of antibiotics in people and animals will help to safeguard this invaluable resource for future generations.”

Veterinary Ireland President David MacGuinness said that the AMR issue means that certain important antibiotics may become restricted or unavailable to equine or other specialist veterinary practitioners in the future, with potentially serious treatment or animal welfare implications in the future.

IRISH vets are also concerned about the potential impact of Brexit on the availability of certain medicines to treat horses, pets or livestock in their care and whether there is the potential risk of shortages. Brexit may not allow dual licencing of some drugs which are currently available in the UK and the Republic of Ireland using dual labelling.

“In addition, the Republic of Ireland veterinary drugs market is an extremely small proportion of total drug sales worldwide in sectors such as the equine sector,” said David MacGuinness. “Some drug companies may find it uneconomical to go through a licencing process which is dedicated to the Republic of Ireland only, creating the risk that some veterinary medicines may become unavailable here.”

MacGuinness voiced concerns for the Irish equine industry if the present tripartite agreement which exists between Ireland, the UK and France is altered as a result of any kind of Brexit.

“The tripartite arrangement which exists is crucial for equine movement between these regions, including Northern Ireland – but also Irish horses that need to be flown because they have been sold for breeding or taking part in races or competitions, must travel to the UK to board aircraft which have been specially adapted to transport horses,” he explained.

“Ireland has a strong reputation globally for the quality of its horses. The contribution of the thoroughbred and professional sports horse sectors to the Irish economy and employment is significant. The risk that Brexit could impact negatively on this existing tripartite agreement is a concern to the Irish equine sector as it could affect the transport of Irish horses throughout the world.”