Masterarbeit

Antibiotics in veterinary medicine - A European Regulatory Perspective ***

Inga Kristin Drosse (2013)

Language: English

Despite a broad range of efforts to improve the use of antibacterial substances and therewith to reduce the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance, it must not be forgotten that up-to-date many issues still remain unsolved. After all, while certainly all efforts to improve animal health can be seen as a positive development, there is no concrete link to predicting the impact this may have as normally no linear dependence can be seen. This on the one hand holds true for the reduced use of antibiotics: While there is unanimous consent that an overall reduction is vital to reverse the trend of increasing resistance, the effect this may have cannot be foreseen as a linear dependence cannot be assumed. The same holds true for measures aiming at improving overall animal health – decreasing the likelihood of suffering from a bacterial infection still does not allow to predict the impact this may have on the overall occurrence of antibacterial resistance.

Therefore all measures taken so far and requirements defined both for the authorization and use of antibacterial substances must continuously and consistently be followed. At the same time effects of all these efforts have to be closely monitored in order to be able to assess impacts of any taken measures as quickly and adequately as possible. Prudent use guidance should be followed at all times – antibiotics need to be prescribed and used only when indicated and following all treatment advice closely.

Pages: 48,
Annexes: pages : n/a