The United Nations General Assembly passed a declaration aiming to slow down the spread of bacteria that have become resistant to antibiotics. The U.S. is well underway in following the U.N.’s directive. Animal health companies are eliminating the use of antibiotics important to human medicine for the purpose of promoting growth in animals. In many cases, these antibiotics will only be available under a Veterinary Feed Directive, essentially a prescription from a veterinarian, starting the first of the year.
As a mother of three children, it is vitally important to me to ensure that antibiotics are effective when one of my kids is sick. As a veterinarian, I also took an oath to protect animal health, prevent animal suffering and to promote human health. From this vantage point, I see all sides of the antibiotics discussion.
Antibiotic resistance represents a serious challenge, but that doesn’t mean it represents a new challenge. From my 20 years as a veterinarian, I share the concern about antibiotic resistance and know that the animal health community does, too. The animal health community will continue to work with all interested parties to find solutions to…