Overview of the AVMA Judicious Use Guidelines

John T. Waddell, Sutton Veterinary Clinic

The use of drugs in animals is fundamental to animal health and well-being. Antimicrobials are needed for the relief of pain and suffering in animals. For food animals, the gains that have been made in food production capacity would not have been possible without the ability for reliable drugs to contain the threat of disease to animals. The increased capacity of the United States livestock and poultry producer has kept high quality protein available and affordable for the majority of the U.S. consumers and consumers in many other countries.However, the use of antimicrobials in food animals is not without risks.

The veterinary profession shares the concerns of the public, governmental agencies, and public health community regarding the broad issue of antimicrobial resistance and specifically the potential risk of resistance developing in animals with subsequent transfer to humans. Because of that concern and to maintain the long-term effectiveness of antimicrobials for animal and human use and to increase the possibility of future antimicrobial drug approvals for the treatment of animals, the American Veterinary Medical Association is committed to judicious use of antimicrobials by veterinarians for the prevention, control, and treatment of animal diseases. The AVMA started a profession-wide initiative, including companion and food animal practitioner groups, to develop and implement judicious use principles for the therapeutic use of antimicrobials by veterinarians. The AVMA Executive Board has approved a general set of judicious use principles. The species practitioner groups have used these general principles as a template to develop more detailed guidelines appropriate to each species.

The overarching position of the AVMA is, "When the decision is reached to use antimicrobials for therapy, veterinarians should strive to optimize therapeutic efficacy and minimize resistance to antimicrobials to protect public and animal health." The objectives of the AVMA are to:

· Support development of a scientific knowledge base that provides the basis for judicious therapeutic antimicrobial use,

· Support educational efforts that promote judicious therapeutic antimicrobial use,

· Preserve therapeutic efficacy of antimicrobials, and

· Ensure current and future availability of veterinary antimicrobials.

Judicious use of antimicrobials is an integral part of good veterinary practice. It is an attitude to maximize therapeutic efficacy and minimize selection of resistant microorganisms. Judicious use principles are a guide for optimal use of antimicrobials. They should not be interpreted so restrictively as to replace professional judgement of practitioners or to compromise animal health or welfare. In all cases, animals should receive prompt and effective treatment as deemed necessary by the prescribing or supervising veterinarian.

There are fifteen general principles which emphasize preventive actions to avoid disease, consideration of other options before choosing to use antimicrobials, and consideration of use of less important drugs before using the drugs of last resort, especially those that are very important to human or animal medicine.

Waddell, John T., Sutton Veterinary Clinic, Sutton, NE 68979, Tel: 402-773-4292, Fax: 402-773-4279, email: john@suttonvetclinic.com