Responsible use of antiparasitic medications in veterinary practice
Responsible use of antiparasitic medications in veterinary practice
In the Spotlight’ features bring together collections of published papers on topics of interest and importance to the veterinary professions.
Papers are chosen for relevance and accessibility, with the full text of articles either being available through the RCVS Knowledge Library, on open access or from other publications to which a significant number of veterinary professionals are likely to have access. This means that there may be relevant evidence that is not included. If you would like assistance in searching for further evidence on this topic you may find the following helpful EBVM Toolkit 2: Finding the best available evidence.
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Published 16 June 2023 | Updated 15 March 2024
Antimicrobial resistance is considered to be a global public health problem. While we are now used to considering responsible use of antibiotics to minimise the development of antimicrobial resistance and protect the efficacy of these products for the treatment of bacterial infections in both humans and animals, we may be less used to thinking about responsible use in respect of anthelmintics (medications which treat helminth worm infections) and other parasiticides.
The World Health Organization defines antimicrobials – including antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and antiparasitics – as medicines used to prevent and treat infections in humans, animals and plants.
The RCVS includes a requirement for veterinary surgeons to use anthelmintics responsibly in order to minimise resistance the development of resistance to these products in Section 4 of the supporting guidance to the Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Surgeons.
However, we are now becoming aware that the responsible use of parasiticides extends beyond considerations of antimicrobial resistance and includes contamination of the environment and effects on the wider ecosystem.
The aim of this Spotlight feature will be to bring together a selection of the most relevant published evidence and other appropriate resources to enable veterinary surgeons to make responsible decisions in the use of antiparasitic medications in order to protect animal health and welfare, and in some cases human health, while minimising detrimental effects. This collection will not include details of the diagnosis and treatment of specific parasitic infections.
As with our other collections, papers are chosen for relevance and accessibility, with the full text of articles either being available through the RCVS Knowledge Library or from other publications to which a significant number of veterinary professionals are likely to have access to, for example through the membership of the BVA or BVNA.
Contents
- Responsible use of antiparasitic medications – a one health issue
- Protecting human health
- Protecting the environment
- Lack of efficacy and resistance
- Farm animal
- Equine
- Small animal
- Guidelines and recommendations for responsible use
- Farm animals
- Horses
- Companion animals
- Owner perceptions
- Farm animal
- Equine
- Small animal
- Exotic and imported disease
References
- Antimicrobial resistance (2021) [World Health Organization] [online]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antimicrobial-resistance [Accessed 8 June 2023]
- Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Surgeons. 4. Veterinary medicines [RCVS] [online]. Available from: https://www.rcvs.org.uk/setting-standards/advice-and-guidance/code-of-professional-conduct-for-veterinary-surgeons/supporting-guidance/veterinary-medicines/ [Accessed 8 June 2023]
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