Return to Previous Menu

BRITISH VETERINARY POULTRY ASSOCIATION

Antimicrobials Guidelines

BACKGROUND

Therapeutic antimicrobial products are used by veterinary surgeons in the treatment and control of many types of infection in a wide variety of animal species. If a number of animals in a group have overt signs of disease, both sick and healthy animals may need to be treated with therapeutic levels of an antimicrobial product for the recommended period. This is intended to cure the clinically affected animals, reduce the spread of disease and prevent clinical signs appearing in the remainder.

Antimicrobial resistance is a natural phenomenon which is an inherent risk associated with any use of antimicrobial medication in any species. Opinion is divided on the practical effects of any resistance associated with antimicrobial use in animals on human health. There is the potential for spread of resistant organisms from treated humans (directly or via sewage effluent) to animal species, and from treated animals to humans (either by direct contact, environmental contamination, or foodborne contamination). Measures aimed at limiting the development of resistance are important for prolonging the useful life of all antimicrobials in both human and animal medicine.

Antimicrobial substances use for digestive enhancement is no longer permitted under EU regulations.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

• 1. Therapeutic antimicrobial products should not be used as an alternative to good management, vaccination, or site hygiene.

• 2. All prescribing of antimicrobials should be for animals under the care of the prescribing veterinarian as defined in the RCVS Code of Conduct. All prescription-only (POM-V) medicines should be supplied with a prescription or direction, a copy of which should be retained by the prescriber for at least 5 years.

• 3. The use of therapeutic antimicrobial products in the absence of clinical disease or specific pathogenic infections and, in particular, long-term administration to prevent disease should not be practised without a clear justification with respect to the health and welfare of the treated birds.

• 4. In an outbreak of animal disease, the sensitivity of the causal organism should ideally be ascertained before therapy is started. In disease outbreaks involving high mortality or where there are signs of rapid spread of disease among contact animals, treatment may be started on the basis of clinical diagnosis. Even so, the sensitivity of the suspected causal organism should, where possible, be determined so that if treatment fails it can be changed in the light of the results of sensitivity testing. Antimicrobial sensitivity trends should be monitored over time and such monitoring may be used to guide clinical judgement on antimicrobial usage.

• 5. It is recognised that prophylactic medication may be appropriate in certain precisely defined circumstances. Each practice should develop a written policy or protocol covering the circumstances in which this is considered appropriate.

• 6. Detailed preventative medicine programmes should be documented for all companies and/or farms, typically in the form of a veterinary health and welfare plan. These should include all routine medications (including non-prescription medicines such as anticoccidials, anthelmintics), competitive exclusion and probiotic treatments and vaccines. Any prescribing of antimicrobial medication should be made taking into account its possible effects on other aspects of the programme (in particular live bacterial vaccines and competitive exclusion).

• 7. Any use of antimicrobials outwith the above guide-lines, in particular use of antimicrobials outside normal data-sheet recommendations (in accordance with “the cascade”) should be carefully justified, for instance as part of the written prescription.

• 8. In all uses of antimicrobials the best available information should be used to determine treatment regimes and dosages aimed at providing optimal efficacy with minimal risk of collateral resistance development in either the target organisms, potentially zoonotic organisms, or organisms capable of transmitting resistance to pathogens. The marketing authorisation holder will be the normal source of such information.

• 9. It is acceptable and desirable for QA schemes to monitor antimicrobial usage, medication documentation, and withdrawal period compliance. However such schemes should not prevent the attending veterinarian from preventing suffering in the animals under his care or encourage under-dosing. Tracking of antimicrobial usage should take into account the concentration of active ingredient. The simplest approach is to record the number of Kgs. of animal treated/day as a proportion of the total Kgs. of animal at risk. Any usage where the mg/kg dosage does not match licensed values would need to be highlighted.
  
• 10. Use of fluoroquinolones in commercial poultry outwith the data sheet approved dosage, route of administration and treatment period, is to be strongly discouraged. All of the standard guidelines as outlined above need to be followed with care, in particular paragraphs 4 and 8.

Ultimately, the use of these products depends on responsible prescribing by the veterinary surgeon.

03/2009