The U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week (USAAW) is an annual observance that highlights steps everyone can take to improve antibiotic prescribing and use. The USAAW observance is November 18-24, 2019 and aligns with CDC’s educational effort, Be Antibiotics Aware: Smart Use, Best Care < link >, the year-round effort to improve antibiotic prescribing and use and combat antibiotic resistance.
America’s pig farmers want to highlight their ongoing efforts to achieve excellent antibiotic stewardship and their determination to always seek improvements. The swine industry’s PQA Plus program represents a practical way to address all areas of on-farm pig production. It includes a section dedicated to responsible antibiotic use, public health and animal care. Antibiotic research is another priority for U.S. pig farmers.
Source: CDC. Link. USAAW is a collaboration of CDC, state-based programs, nonprofit partners, and for-profit partners.
Source: National Hog Farmer, November 18, 2019. Link.
Pig farmers have a positive story to tell, and Antibiotic Awareness Week is a good opportunity to share our message with the public.” – David Newman, president, National Pork Board
Also see: Supporting antimicrobial stewardship in veterinary settings, FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, September 2018. Link.
The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) outlined a multi-year plan to support antimicrobial stewardship in veterinary settings and in alignment with the One Health initiative. The CVM’S goals for fiscal years 2019-2023 include key activities organized under three goals:
- Align antimicrobial drug product use with the principles of antimicrobial stewardship
- Foster stewardship of antimicrobials in veterinary settings
- Enhance monitoring of antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial drug use in animals
INSIGHTS: Sensational statements like, “Thirty percent of antibiotics are prescribed unnecessarily in <human> outpatient settings,” have garnered much of the attention from doctors and patients alike. The real intent of antimicrobial stewardship is what animal health pros need to emphasize.
Improving the way healthcare professionals prescribe antibiotics, and the way we take antibiotics, helps keep us healthy now, helps fight antibiotic resistance, and ensures that these lifesaving drugs will be available for future generations.