This includes the control and eradication of zoonoses, diseases that are naturally transmitted between vertebrate animals and man. These diseases pose a continuous hazard to the health and welfare of the public. More than 100 diseases are categorized as zoonoses, including salmonellosis, Foot and Mouth Disease, African Swine Fever, Sheep Pox and Goat Pox just to mention a few. It is important to understand how antibiotics are used in humans and in food animals and how these uses affect the evolution of antibacterial resistance. Appropriate use of antibiotics for food animals will preserve the long-term effectiveness of existing antibiotics, support animal health and welfare, and limit the risk of transfer of antibiotic resistance to humans. Having an understanding of the epidemiology of antimicrobial resistance allows development of preventive strategies to limit existing resistance and to avoid emergence of new strains of resistant bacteria. The veterinary public health scope also includes the development and supervision of food hygiene practices, laboratory and research activities, and education of the public. There are many ways in which veterinary medicine plays a very important role not just in animal health but also in public …show more content…
Antibiotics are powerful tools when used correctly. They are subject to prescription control in accordance with EU and national legislation. Now veterinary practitioners are under ethical constraints in the manner by which antibiotics are prescribed and dispensed.
In recent years the European Medicines Agency (EMA), acting at the request of the European Commission, has reviewed the symptoms and conditions under which a number of the more modern antibiotic classes (fluoroquinolones, macrolides and cephalosporins) are used in veterinary medicine. These reviews have resulted in more precise recommendations for use and new warnings which must be taken into account by vets when prescribing these antibiotics.
The Health Products Regulatory Authority - HPRA - has published advice for vets, pharmacists, licensed merchants and farmers who prescribe, dispense or use antimicrobial drugs. It highlights the need for attention in the prescribing and use of these medicines to safeguard human and animal health against the development of antimicrobial resistance.
The HPRA gatherS information on the consumption of antimicrobial drugs nationally in respect of veterinary antimicrobial drugs, in accordance with a sister programme knows as European Surveillance of Veterinary Antimicrobial Consumption