Antimicrobial use data collection in animal agriculture

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Medicine
• Antimicrobial Resistance
• Animal Agriculture

Background:

• Antimicrobial drug use drives the emergence of drug-resistant organisms.
• Judicious antimicrobial use is critical in human and animal medicine to slow resistance.
• The FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) promotes antimicrobial stewardship in veterinary settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To understand resistance drivers in veterinary settings.
• To assess interventions for slowing antimicrobial resistance.
• To gather scientifically sound data on antimicrobial use and resistance.

Main Methods:

• The FDA funded pilot projects for farm-level antimicrobial use data collection in 2016.
• Data were collected from dairy, feedlot cattle, swine, broiler, and turkey operations.
• Information from the first two years of pilot projects is presented.

Main Results:

• Pilot projects collected farm-level antimicrobial use data.
• Data were gathered from various animal production settings.
• Challenges in data collection and reporting were discussed.

Conclusions:

• Access to scientifically sound data is vital for understanding antimicrobial resistance.
• Pilot projects provide insights into antimicrobial use practices in animal agriculture.
• These efforts inform long-term strategies for national antimicrobial use data collection and reporting.