Farm vets invited to UK-wide antibiotic survey

Vets have been invited to take part in a UK-wide survey enquiring about prophylactic antibiotic use in farm animal surgery.

The survey, conducted by the Veterinary Prescribing Champion (VPC) network as part of Arwain DGC, has been launched to help develop a uniform approach to the use of preventative antibiotics in surgical procedures on cattle and sheep.

Led by Arwain’s new veterinary development manager Amelia Sidwell and VPC clinical lead Beth Riley, it seeks to understand current prescribing practices, understand variation and develop consensus-based guidance to support responsible antimicrobial use in practice.

‘Lack of guidance’

Dr Sidwell said: “Discussions within the network have identified a lack of guidance on antibiotic prophylaxis in surgical procedures on cattle and sheep and highlighted inconsistent practices between prescribers.

“Both factors could be barriers to adopting collaborative approaches to antimicrobial stewardship and to attaining individual antimicrobial stewardship goals.”

The survey, said to take 15 minutes to complete, closes on 24 May.