Pets, Antibiotics and Antimicrobial Resistance: A Growing Public Health Concern?

Protecting the efficacy of antimicrobial medications is considered a high priority in order to protect public health. Although attention has focused most recently on the use of medically important antibiotics to promote growth in food animals, interest is now turning to companion animal veterinarians’ use of these drugs and whether pets are a potential reservoir for drug-resistant bacteria. In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced its intentions to identify strategies for promoting antimicrobial stewardship in companion animal medicine.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has been working at the forefront of this issue. In 2013, the AVMA created a task force whose charge was to develop practice guidelines for implementing antimicrobial stewardship in companion animal practice. The task force did that and more to help raise awareness for the issue of antimicrobial resistance in companion animals, identify gaps in the profession’s current knowledge and provide resources for veterinary practices to use.

Yet there is much more that can be done to help companion animal veterinarians and their teams learn more about antibiotic resistance, judicious drug use and infection control. Ample opportunities exist to help veterinary healthcare teams educate their clients about antimicrobial resistance and appropriate use of antibiotics that helps enhance the veterinarian-client-patient relationship as it helps protect human and animal health.

The risk of infection with antibiotic-resistant bacteria is real for pet owners and their furry family members. If your company’s product portfolio includes antimicrobial products that are indicated for dogs and cats or anti-infective products used in veterinary clinic facilities, you’re probably aware that antimicrobial resistance is a growing concern across the veterinary profession. And you may have thought about what your organization can do to help veterinarians and pet owners use your products appropriately. At Woodruff Sweitzer, we’ve thought about it too, and have plenty of good ideas to share. For more about what we know and think about pets and antimicrobial resistance, take a look at our white paper.