Responsible use of antibiotics
spotlight topic:
6. Responsible use of antibiotics
Published 29 April 2021 | Updated 18 February 2025
Responsible use of antibiotics, or antibiotic stewardship, involves making evidence-based decisions about the need for treatment of the individual, or group of animals, with a bacterial infection while also being mindful of the broader implications of antibiotic use.
- Gehring, R., Mochel, J.P. and Schmerold, I. (2023) Understanding the background and clinical significance of the WHO, WOAH, and EMA classifications of antimicrobials to mitigate antimicrobial resistance. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 10, no. 1153048. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2023.1153048
- WHO (2019) Critically important antimicrobials for human medicine, 6th revision. Geneva: WHO. Available from: https://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/antimicrobials-sixth/en/ [Accessed 8 April 2021]
- Highest Priority Critically Important Antimicrobials [WHO] [online] Available from: https://www.who.int/foodsafety/cia/en/ [Accessed 8 April 2021]
- Categorisation of antibiotics for use in animals: for prudent and responsible use [EMA] [online] Available from: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/report/infographic-categorisation-antibiotics-use-animals-prudent-responsible-use_en.pdf [Accessed 8 April 2021]
- Mateus, A., Brodbelt, D. and Stärk, K. (2011) Evidence-based use of antimicrobials in veterinary practice. In Practice, 33 (5), pp. 194-202. https://doi.org/10.1136/inp.d2873
- Lagana, D.M., Taylor, D.D. and Scallan Walter, E.J. (2023) Advancing antimicrobial stewardship in companion animal veterinary medicine: a qualitative study on perceptions and solutions to a One Health problem. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.23.02.0100
- Kardomatea N. et al. (2023) Quantifying topical antimicrobial use before and during participation in an antimicrobial stewardship programme in Dutch companion animal clinics. PLoS ONE, 18 (4), e0283956. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283956
- Singleton, D.A. et al (2021) A randomised controlled trial to reduce highest priority critically important antimicrobial prescription in companion animals. Nature Communications, 12, no. 1593 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21864-3
- Guardabassi, L. and Prescott, J.F. (2015) Antimicrobial stewardship in small animal veterinary practice: from theory to practice. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice, 45 (2), pp. 361-376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cvsm.2014.11.005
- Feyes, E.E. et al (2021) Implementation of an antimicrobial stewardship program in a veterinary medical teaching institution. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 258 (2), pp. 170-178. https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.258.2.170
- Schrag, N.F. et al. (2022) Improving farm-level antimicrobial stewardship benchmarks by reporting antimicrobial use within the context of both the magnitude of disease pressure and the outcome of therapy. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 9, no. 1022557. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2022.1022557
- Regan, A. et al. (2023) Behaviour change interventions for responsible antimicrobial use on farms. Irish Veterinary Journal, 76, 8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13620-023-00236-x
- Turner, A. (2022) Prioritising antibiotic selection in farm animal practice. Livestock, 27 (4), pp. 166 -171. https://doi.org/10.12968/live.2022.27.4.166
6.a. Reducing antibiotic usage
Updated 18 February 2025.
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!