FDA five-year plan to combat rising threat of antibiotic overuseAugust 3, 2018In its ongoing effort to combat antimicrobial resistance, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it will implement a five-year blueprint outlining the administration's strategy to "advance antimicrobial stewardship in veterinary settings." As part of the FDA's regulatory mission, its Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) is responsible for ensuring the safety and effectiveness of animal drugs, including antimicrobials. Progress has been made, but additional work is needed to address the complex challenge of antimicrobial resistance, the organization said in a statement. "At FDA, we believe that the concept of antimicrobial stewardship encompasses several important principles of judicious use," said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD. "These are critical to slowing the rate at which bacteria develop resistance to antimicrobial drugs. In simple terms, we believe medically important antimicrobial drugs should only be used when necessary to treat, control or prevent disease. In addition, when such use is necessary, these antimicrobials should be used in an optimal manner. They should only be used under the oversight of a licensed veterinarian." The administration's plan, which will cover fiscal years 2019 - 2023, will focus three goals: Aligning antimicrobial drug product use with the principles of antimicrobial stewardship Supporting …
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ISU to lead national antimicrobial research, education centerJuly 26, 2018Iowa State University has been charged with establishing and hosting a new national Institute for Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Research and Education. The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) chose ISU to lead the institute, which will utilize a One Health approach to comprehensively tackle the AMR problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, antibiotic-resistant bacteria cause at least 2 million illnesses and 23,000 deaths in the U.S. every year, costing approximately $20 billion a year in direct health care costs and up to $35 billion in lost productivity. The new institute is the result of a joint task force on antibiotic resistance in production agriculture created by AAVMC and APLU in 2014, which released a report offering research and education recommendations designed to address the AMR problem. "The misuse of antibiotics is a major reason why antimicrobial resistance is a rapidly growing threat to human, animal, and environmental health," said Ian Maw, vice president, Food, Agriculture & Natural Resources, APLU. "While the problem is well understood, the path to advancing solutions has been blurry. It's clear we need a coordinating body to organize …
Client checklist: Tips for traveling with petsJuly 20, 2018Whether traveling by plane, train, or automobile, there are many factors to consider when vacationing with a pet.
Is tramadol an effective analgesic for dogs and cats?June 26, 2018Awareness of the importance of analgesia for veterinary patients has increased significantly over the past two decades. It is widely considered important, for medical and ethical reasons, to provide effective pain relief for dogs and cats, whether their pain is due to surgery, injury, or chronic medical conditions.
Texas A&M and Cornell team up for AMR researchJune 25, 2018 Texas A&M and Cornell universities are working together to advance the research of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in veterinary medical education and streamline communications for underrepresented students in the field, reports Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVM). Funded by a $300,000 federal grant from the United States Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, researchers from both institutions will work in tandem to develop and study the impact of a collection of competency-based educational resources on AMR in order to aid veterinary education programs across the U.S. "Antimicrobial resistance poses an increasingly serious threat to global health, and veterinarians must be properly equipped to assume leadership roles in addressing this challenge," said Kevin Cummings, DVM, Ph.D., principal investigator for Cornell University. "Crucial to the success of the AMR mitigation effort is the need to educate a wide variety of stakeholders about proper antimicrobial stewardship in production agriculture." The monies will go toward research focused on the development of multidisciplinary lessons on AMR, as well as the creation of an online platform to share resources with veterinary colleges across the country and increase community for underrepresented student populations regarding career opportunities in …
How 'brain candy' helps petsJune 18, 2018The female pit bull had a tough-chick approach to life: Be aggressive first; ask questions later. Her owner was a dog trainer and had taught her well as far as obedience training, but the dog was aggressive toward other dogs in the home and toward some humans.
Pet drug peddler sentenced to 30 monthsMarch 13, 2018 Following a plea agreement, former Orange County veterinary drug salesman Sean Gerson, 49, received a 30-month prison term for his part in spearheading an online pet drug ring. Gerson's sentencing follows a six-year federal investigation into his involvement with multiple websites, illicitly selling veterinary drugs. Last September, Gerson conceded to heading a criminal group that imported, transported, and sold foreign-branded, misbranded, and unapproved prescription animal drugs and parasiticides, with most business conducted online under 樂威壯 his company, Vaccination Services. He had been involved in the illicit trade since 2002. Gerson also admitted to intentionally defrauding/misleading the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, selling unregistered and foreign-branded products to undercover law enforcement agents, and amassing at least $2.5 million from the illegal sale and purchase of pet drugs and parasiticides. As part of his plea deal, Gerson agreed to surrender $2.5 million in assets and pay a $200,000 fine in addition to his prison sentence. To read more, click here.
Veterinary Emerging Topics Report for 2018 focuses on AMRFebruary 15, 2018Banfield Pet Hospital and the North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) have published the second annual Veterinary Emerging Topics (VET) Report. This year's report focuses on feline antimicrobial usage and the mounting public health issue of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), expanding the 2017 conversation that discussed canine patients. "Our second annual VET Report enables Banfield to continue its commitment to advancing pet health," said Daniel Aja, DVM, chief medical officer, Banfield Pet Hospital. " … Our … goal is to give veterinarians around the world information they need to provide the best care possible to feline patients, while also educating pet owners and the general public on the issue of AMR in companion animals." A lack of awareness around existing guidelines for antimicrobial usage in veterinary medicine has contributed to discordance between usage patterns and ideal treatments, according to the report. The 2018 publication highlights these guidelines and places a special focus on prescription patterns in common feline infections, considering the unique challenges cat owners face treating their feline companions, such as hiding behavior and defense mechanisms, the report stated. Research examined the treatment of upper respiratory infections and urinary tract infections in feline patients. Key findings include: 40 percent of …
Recoup veterinary med revenueDecember 1, 2017As the veterinary pharmacy landscape continues to move away from traditional in-clinic sales, practice owners are left wondering how to regain some of their lost revenue, especially for the sale of parasite preventives and prescription foods.
WHO urges end to antibiotics use in healthy food-producing animalsNovember 10, 2017The World Health Organization (WHO) launched new guidelines regarding the use of antimicrobials in food-producing animals, urging farmers and the food industry to stop using antibiotics to promote growth and prevent disease in otherwise healthy animals. The guidelines were announced ahead of World Antibiotic Awareness Week, Nov. 13-19. The WHO recommends an overall reduction in the use of all classes of medically important antibiotics in food-producing animals, including complete restriction of these antibiotics for growth promotion and disease prevention without diagnosis. Healthy animals should receive antibiotics only to prevent disease if it has been diagnosed in other animals in the same flock, herd, or fish population, according to the WHO. The new guidelines aim to help preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics important for human medicine. They recommend that antibiotics used in animals should be among those that are the least important to human health, and not from those classified as "critically important." The European Union barred the practice in 2006, and a US ban on use of "medically important" antibiotics kicked in at the beginning of this year, according to the WHO. "A lack of effective antibiotics is as serious a security threat …
