AHI Viewpoint: Disease Prevention is a Proven Pathway to Reducing the Need for Animal Antibiotics

The best strategy for reducing the threat of antimicrobial resistance is to reduce the need for antibiotics through better prevention, earlier detection, and more efficient treatment.

Innovations in animal health have improved prevention efforts. For example, accurate diagnostics curb the severity of animal disease by enabling more effective treatments and reducing the need for antibiotics. Microfluid technologies can bring diagnostics to the point of care. Analyzing extremely small volumes of fluid improves the chance of early detection and reduces the cost of care.

New technologies like bacteriophages reduce the need for antibiotics by narrowly targeting specific bacteria to address infections. These ‘bacteria eaters’ are viruses that infect and destroy bacteria, which reduces the need for antibiotics.

And a study of EU swine found that increasing biosecurity measures and vaccination led to a reduction in antimicrobial usage by 52% for fattening pigs and 32% for breeding animals.

For a detailed look at how prevention reduces the need for animal antibiotics, check out this HealthforAnimals report.