Bo Norby

Dept. of Large Animal Clinical Sciences College of Veterinary Medicine

Michigan State University

Antimicrobial Resistance: An Animal Ag Perspective

•  More  than  12  colleagues  involved  in  research  of:  – An7bio7c  use  and  use  pa:erns  and  its  impact  on  immunity  and  resistance  in  zoono7c  and  animal  pathogens  

–  Interven7ons  to  reduce  an7microbial  resistance  – Non-­‐an7bio7c  alterna7ves  to  treat  bacterial  infec7ons  

– Human  behaviors  regarding  an7bio7c  use  in  treatment  of  mas77s  

– Classroom  and  online  educa7on  

College of Veterinary Medicine and Dept. of Large Animal Clinical Sciences

•  livestock  produc/on  

Antibiotic Use and Resistance in Livestock Production

•  An7bio7c  use  leads  to  the  emergence,  accumula7on  and  dissemina7on  of  AR  within  and  among  popula7ons  of  subjects  and  the  environment  

•  An7bio7c  use  in  agriculture  considered  a  major  contributor  to  AR  and  risk  to  human  health  

•  Easy  to  get  the  impression  that  reducing  or  banning  an7bio7c  use  in  livestock  produc7on  will  take  care  of  the  resistance    problem  –  President’s  Council  of  Advisors  on  Science  and  Technology  (PCAST)  

–  Union  of  concerned  scien7sts  –  News  stories:  PBS  Frontline  Monday  night  

Antibiotic Use and Resistance in Livestock Production

•  All  produc7on  uses  of  an7bio7cs  in  livestock  produc7on  to  be  phased  out  by  2016  

•  May  affect    – Produc7vity  – Health  – Welfare  

Antibiotic Use and Resistance in Livestock Production

•  A  prudent  ques7on  is  if  reducing  an7bio7c  use  will  be  considered  enough?  

•  Lessons  from  Europe  and  comparing  AR  in  organic  vs  conven7onal  livestock  produc7on  –  Some  reduc7on  in  an7bio7c  use  

•  Increased  use  of  others  –  Some  reduc7on  in  AR  

•  But  increase  for  others  – A  slow  process  – Not  a  silver  bullet!  

Reducing Antibiotic Use in Livestock

•  Can  we  do  more  to  reduce  an7bio7c  use?  – Alterna7ves  to  an7bio7cs  

•  For  preven7on  and  treatment  –  Be:er  treatment  programs  &  use  policies  –  Changing  human  behavior  

•  If  we  really  want  to  make  an  impact  – We  need  to  look  for  new  innova7ve  interven7ons  to  reduce  an7bio7c  use  in  general  (rather  than  just  banning  them)  and  to  reduce  AR  

Can We Do More?

A Dutch Farmer Conquers MRSA Colonizing His Family and His Pigs

•  Eric  van  den  Heulen  •  Pig  farmer  from  Holland  •  Four  of  five  in  his  family  and  his  pigs  were  colonized  by  MRSA  

•  Daughter  denied  access  to  hospital  for  heart  surgery  because  of  MRSA  coloniza7on  

•  What  would  be  the  point  in  clearing  her  and  the  rest  of  the  family  of  MRSA  if  they  would  just  get  re-­‐colonized  from  the  pigs?  

Can we do more?

•  van  den  Heulen  started  two  things:  – Be:er  sanita7on  – Feeding  probio7cs  AND  spraying  probio7cs  on  pigs  and  the  environment  several  7mes  weekly  

 

Can we do more?

•  3  years  later:  – MRSA  was  gone,  and    – He  only  uses  5%  of  the  an7bio7cs  he  used  3  years  ago  – His  barns  smell  be:er  

•  Perhaps  it  is  possible  to  do  more  than  merely  banning  an7bio7c  use  in  order  to  reduce  AR…!?  

•  At  the  same  7me  improve  overall  health  of  animals  and  people  working  with  them  

Can we do more?

Thank you!