Dairy veterinarians' views on antimicrobial use, resistance and treatment practices

Veterinarians are being asked to provide more oversight of antibiotics used on dairies and promote stewardship of these drugs because of the risk for development of antimicrobial resistance. As organizations work to develop stewardship guidelines, gathering data on veterinarians' views and actual use can better inform those guidelines. The purpose of this project was to survey dairy veterinarians to understand current antimicrobial use practices and views on antimicrobial resistance. A SO-question online survey was developed and a link sent to members of the Academy of Dairy Veterinary Consultants. The final response rate of 41 % (58 of 143) included only practicing veterinarians. Fifty-nine percent did not believe that the current use of antimicrobials on dairy farms contributed to antimicrobial resistance in human pathogens. Most of the respondents (83 % ) felt that there was unnecessary use of antimicrobials on dairies, particularly in pre-weaned calves, primarily due to protocol non-compliance and farmers' or employees' misidentification of healthy animals as sick and treatment of them with antimicrobials. About half the respondents always had written treatment protocols for their clients, and 40% always provided training on those protocols. Blanket dry-cow therapy was recommended by 65% of the practitioners. The results of this survey provide a baseline of western, large dairy herd veterinary antimicrobial use and recommendations. Responses indicated opportunities for dairy practitioners to improve some antimicrobial stewardship practices that could reduce antimicrobial use.

[1]  L. Warnick,et al.  Calf care personnel on dairy farms and their educational opportunities. , 2019, Journal of dairy science.

[2]  J. Bender,et al.  Quantification of antibiotic use on dairy farms in Pennsylvania. , 2019, Journal of dairy science.

[3]  E. Strand,et al.  Drivers of Antimicrobial Use Practices among Tennessee Dairy Cattle Producers , 2018, Veterinary medicine international.

[4]  L. Higham,et al.  A survey of dairy cow farmers in the United Kingdom: knowledge, attitudes and practices surrounding antimicrobial use and resistance , 2018, Veterinary Record.

[5]  M. Nielen,et al.  Randomized prospective trials to study effects of reduced antibiotic usage in abdominal surgery in cows. , 2018, Journal of dairy science.

[6]  M. Nielen,et al.  Effects of reduced intramammary antimicrobial use during the dry period on udder health in Dutch dairy herds. , 2018, Journal of dairy science.

[7]  J. Dewulf,et al.  Associations between a decreased veterinary antimicrobial use and resistance in commensal Escherichia coli from Belgian livestock species (2011-2015). , 2017, Preventive veterinary medicine.

[8]  Heather Ganshorn,et al.  Restricting the use of antibiotics in food-producing animals and its associations with antibiotic resistance in food-producing animals and human beings: a systematic review and meta-analysis , 2017, The Lancet. Planetary health.

[9]  K. Hoelzer,et al.  Antimicrobial drug use in food-producing animals and associated human health risks: what, and how strong, is the evidence? , 2017, BMC Veterinary Research.

[10]  W. Heuwieser,et al.  Antibiotic treatment of metritis in dairy cows-A meta-analysis. , 2017, Journal of dairy science.

[11]  H. Billman-Jacobe,et al.  Antimicrobials used for surgical prophylaxis by companion animal veterinarians in Australia. , 2017, Veterinary microbiology.

[12]  S. McDougall,et al.  Factors influencing antimicrobial prescribing by veterinarians and usage by dairy farmers in New Zealand , 2017, New Zealand veterinary journal.

[13]  D. Nydam,et al.  Clinical outcome comparison of immediate blanket treatment versus a delayed pathogen-based treatment protocol for clinical mastitis in a New York dairy herd. , 2017, Journal of dairy science.

[14]  W. Sischo,et al.  0588 Motivations of calf care workers for sick calf identification and treatment decisions. , 2016 .

[15]  G. Schuenemann,et al.  Understanding antimicrobial stewardship: Disease severity treatment thresholds and antimicrobial alternatives among organic and conventional calf producers. , 2016, Preventive veterinary medicine.

[16]  D. Kelton,et al.  Antimicrobial dispensing by Ontario dairy veterinarians. , 2015, The Canadian veterinary journal = La revue veterinaire canadienne.

[17]  H. Boothe,et al.  Antimicrobial considerations in the perioperative patient. , 2015, The Veterinary clinics of North America. Small animal practice.

[18]  R. Smith,et al.  Visual weight estimation and the risk of underdosing dairy cattle , 2015, Veterinary Record.

[19]  Geof W. Smith.  Antimicrobial Decision Making for Enteric Diseases of Cattle , 2015, Veterinary Clinics of North America: Food Animal Practice.

[20]  M. Lipsitch,et al.  Antibiotics in agriculture and the risk to human health: how worried should we be? , 2014, Evolutionary applications.

[21]  T. Lam,et al.  Evaluation of the use of dry cow antibiotics in low somatic cell count cows. , 2014, Journal of dairy science.

[22]  Alison L. Van Eenennaam,et al.  Development of a novel clinical scoring system for on-farm diagnosis of bovine respiratory disease in pre-weaned dairy calves , 2014, PeerJ.

[23]  I. Dohoo,et al.  Evaluation of selective dry cow treatment following on-farm culture: risk of postcalving intramammary infection and clinical mastitis in the subsequent lactation. , 2014, Journal of dairy science.

[24]  S. Borriello,et al.  Factors influencing antibiotic prescribing habits and use of sensitivity testing amongst veterinarians in Europe , 2013, Veterinary Record.

[25]  F. Butler,et al.  Influences on antimicrobial prescribing behaviour of veterinary practitioners in cattle practice in Ireland , 2012, Veterinary Record.

[26]  S. Oliver,et al.  Impact of antibiotic use in adult dairy cows on antimicrobial resistance of veterinary and human pathogens: a comprehensive review. , 2011, Foodborne pathogens and disease.

[27]  J. Walton,et al.  Risk factors for postpartum uterine diseases in dairy cows. , 2010, Journal of dairy science.

[28]  J. Lejeune,et al.  Bovine veterinarians' knowledge, beliefs, and practices regarding antibiotic resistance on Ohio dairy farms. , 2009, Journal of dairy science.

[29]  K. Newman.  Bovine cesarean section in the field. , 2008, The Veterinary clinics of North America. Food animal practice.

[30]  D. Call,et al.  Assessment and promotion of judicious antibiotic use on dairy farms in Washington State. , 2006, Journal of dairy science.

[31]  W. Heuwieser,et al.  Comparison of two strategies for systemic antibiotic treatment of dairy cows with retained fetal membranes: preventive vs. selective treatment. , 2006, Journal of dairy science.

[32]  H. Momont.  Bovine reproductive emergencies. , 2005, The Veterinary clinics of North America. Food animal practice.

[33]  L. Sordillo,et al.  A survey on antibiotic usage in dairy herds in Pennsylvania. , 2005, Journal of dairy science.