Antibiotic resistance a threat to horse drug arsenal
Antibiotic resistance is rapidly becoming an issue in the equine world, a new white paper has warned.
It warns that tighter controls could be imposed on medicines in a bid to prevent antibiotic resistance. Such controls could ultimately mean certain antibiotics would no longer be available for use in horses.
To slow the development and spread of multi-drug resistant bacteria, it is imperative that all parties involved practice the careful use of antibiotics, according to the paper produced by the American Association of Equine Practitioners’ Equine Research Coordination Group.
The group, comprised of organizations and researchers that support equine research, is chaired by New Zealand-born equine orthopedic specialist Dr Wayne McIlwraith, who is based at Colorado State University.
Antimicrobial resistance is a type of drug resistance whereby bacteria are able to survive exposure to an antibiotic.
It is inherent to the use of antimicrobials, according to Dr Harold McKenzie III, who is associate professor of medicine at Virginia Tech’s Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center.
“Any time antimicrobials are used, there is an inherent selection process whereby the bacteria exposed to the antibiotic will be inhibited or die, but a few bacteria will likely survive,” he said.
“Ultimately, if this process continues, only resistant bacteria remain.”
Due to the frequent use of antimicrobials in humans and animals some bacteria are becoming resistant to many antibiotics, a situation known as multi-drug resistance (MDR). Continue reading