British livestock industry welcomes new government vision on AMR

Poultry News

British livestock industry welcomes new government vision on AMR

January 25, 2019

United Kingdom – New Interdepartmental Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) launched by the Secretary of State for Health, the Right Honorable Matt Hanbad, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, S & ## 39, is commended by the Alliance for Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture (RUMA)

The new five-year national action plan has been published alongside the UK's 20-year RAM Vision, which combines the ambitions of the human and animal health, environment and food chain sectors. .

RUMA President, Gwyn Jones, said that overall, the reports point to the 40% reduction in antibiotic use by British livestock since the release of the latest strategy, there is five years. In addition, they have shown the potential of the industry as a future global leader in the responsible use of antibiotics.

He said: "The new five-year national action plan will support our plans to continue progress on reducing, refining or replacing the use of antibiotics. The chapters on food-producing animals focus on planning to prevent disease as much as possible, keep livestock healthy and ensure the proper and responsible use of antibiotics only when necessary to treat diseases and protect the welfare of animals.

"The focus is also on improving the quality of data, a subject that is very present in the cattle and sheep sectors, especially for the moment.

"We are delighted that these areas are already central to the sectoral goals set by the RUMA goals working group in 2017. As we move towards 2020 – when most goals need to be met – we will continue our concerted efforts to target and eliminate endemic diseases by improving the use of screening and vaccines, which will undoubtedly improve animal health on a national scale, "he explained.

"As a result, we expect that the use of antibiotics will continue to decline – and the government's plan's aspirations that it would result in an additional 25% reduction between 2016 and 2020 are entirely achievable." . "

Jones said the next job will be to help each sector look at targets beyond 2020. "These will likely focus on maintaining responsible use and continuous improvement of the environment. health, agricultural infrastructure, nutrition, genetics and preventive measures. "

Mr. Jones added that he was pleased that the narrative around the issue of antimicrobial resistance in the United Kingdom has stopped blaming veterinary care and health care, to the benefit of the United States. a real interest in what others are doing.

"For example, the potential presence of antibiotics and resistance genes in the environment is of growing concern to medical and veterinary specialists. We seek to strengthen our understanding and action in this area by recruiting an Environmental Science Specialist in our independent scientific group in the near future.

"We all have to work together – the risk of antibiotic resistance is a medical, veterinary, environmental, food and commercial challenge that we all share. We are now working much more closely with colleagues from other disciplines and it is clear that we have a lot to gain. "