23 May 2024
Increased monitoring, greater public awareness and work towards new approaches to infections are among priorities outlined in document.
Allister Webb
Job Title
Image © bukhta79 / Adobe Stock
Veterinary and industry groups have welcomed the launch of a new national action plan to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Increased monitoring, greater public awareness and work towards new approaches to infections are among the priorities outlined in the document, which covers the period from now until 2029.
The paper, published on 8 May, represents the second stage of a longer-term initiative, which aims to contain and control AMR in the UK by 2040.
CVO Christine Middlemiss said: “The UK has made fantastic progress in the past 10 years to reduce AMR in animals, working between government, farming industry, vets and animal keepers to reduce the use of antibiotics in food-producing animals by more than half.
“The new National Action Plan will build upon these achievements, and I urge vets and animal keepers to continue to support the UK’s 20-year vision to contain and control AMR.”
The 85-page document sets out four main themes for improvement over the next five years across the fields of animal and human health, agriculture and the wider environment:
The report’s nine anticipated strategic outcomes include improved prevention and control of infection, increased public awareness, advances in monitoring, working within the life sciences sector to develop new approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of infections, plus diplomatic efforts through groups including the G7 and G20 to reduce global usage.
Although Defra officials have highlighted the UK Government’s commitment of £210 million to tackle AMR in Africa and Asia two years ago, through the Fleming Fund, the UK’s special envoy on AMR, Dame Sally Davies, said there was already an “antibiotic emergency”.
She added: “We have to work together, across the world, with those countries that need action the most, to make progress and contain AMR.”
In response to the plan, the BVA said it was pleased that its consultation proposals for increased data collection and surveillance, as well as action to promote responsible use in the companion animal and equine sectors, had been included.
Last year, the group’s Voice of the Veterinary Profession survey found nearly 90% of UK vets were concerned about the possibility of them losing the ability to treat infections in animals because of AMR, while a similar proportion (84%) raised concerns about the potential for enforced restrictions on future veterinary usage.
The group’s president, Anna Judson, said: “Vets play a vital role in championing responsible antimicrobial use.
“BVA will continue working with its specialist divisions and all key stakeholders to build on the animal health actions within the plan, to help preserve these essential medicines for both humans as well as animals in the future.”
Meanwhile, NOAH officials said the document had set out a “comprehensive strategy” for tackling the problem.
Chief executive Dawn Howard said: “NOAH is committed to working with the Government and all stakeholders to tackle the serious threat of AMR.
“We are particularly pleased to see the plan’s focus on areas of key interest to animal health. This includes promoting the responsible use of antibiotics and the development of new preventive measures such as animal vaccines.
“This is a focus for a number of our member companies, and crucial to the one health approach that unites animal, human and environmental health outcomes.”
