Page 502 - The Veterinary Laboratory and Field Manual 3rd Edition

Antimicrobial resistance: a threat to human and animal health 439

Action Plan and outlines the goals and tactics 3 Surveillance
that the OIE has in place for the fight against Adequate monitoring of AMU is a necessary
AMR. As part of the OIE strategy the onus is component of antimicrobial stewardship. Basic
on national regulatory authorities to implement data including the annual weight in kilograms
regulations relating to the use of veterinary anti- of the active ingredient of the antimicrobial used
microbials. Regulatory framework to control for each species, the type of use and the route
access, advertising and distribution of antimicro- of administration should be recorded. These
bials should be established. The OIE Terrestrial data will allow evaluation of usage patterns and
Animal Health Code (OIE, n.d.) provides rec- antimicrobial exposure in animal production
ommendations to assist competent authorities systems. OIE standards for harmonization of
with this task. Member Countries of the OIE are national antimicrobial resistance surveillance
provided with tools to help with implementation and monitoring programmes can be used to fol-
of the antimicrobial resistance guidelines. These low trends in AMR, detect the emergence of new
include tools to support evaluation of the per- AMR mechanisms and provide data needed to
formance of veterinary services, and to improve conduct risk analyses. The Terrestrial Animal
critical competencies for a veterinary service to Health Code is a comprehensive document pro-
function effectively. viding guidelines for member countries in how
to develop an antimicrobial resistance surveil-
1 Quality assurance programmes lance and monitoring programme. This includes
Many countries have adopted quality assurance advice on general aspects such as use of statisti-
programmes to meet increasing consumer pref- cally based surveys, sampling strategies, sample
erences for higher standards of animal health, size, sample sources, bacteria to target, storage
welfare and food safety. Such programmes can of bacterial isolates, susceptibility testing and
incorporate the responsible use of antibiotics on recording, and storage and interpretation of data.
farm, and the maintenance of records of medi- Laboratory methodologies for antimicrobial
cine use. Where such assurance programmes are susceptibility testing have been standardized in
subject to regular audits the measures imple- the OIE Manual for Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines
mented work towards reducing antimicrobial for Terrestrial Animals (OIE, 2018b), allowing for
use (AMU) and encouraging responsible AMU. direct comparison of results between different
regions or countries. Timely diagnosis of the caus-
2 Veterinary stewardship ative agent when treating infection is the ultimate
There should be no financial incentives between goal of microbiology. Such point of use diagnostics
veterinary practitioners, suppliers of antimicro- are becoming more readily available, albeit still
bials and the pharmaceutical industry. This will cost prohibitive. It is hoped that the cost of such
prevent conflicts of interest that could facili- equipment will continue to fall as an increased
tate unnecessary prescription of antimicrobials. range of products comes to market, allowing their
Veterinarians should keep abreast of treatment incorporation into routine diagnostic practices.
guidelines provided by national authorities
or veterinary professional bodies to assist in
making decisions regarding the appropriate 12.3 Conclusion
antimicrobial, dose and route of administration.
Optimal prescribing decisions will take into The risks facing the global population from the
account regional and local trends in antimicro- development of antibiotic-resistant infections
bial sensitivity. are serious. Collaborative efforts to reduce the

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