Over-the-Counter Antibiotics: What You Need to Know Before June 11
When kids are sick, parents want to do the best they can to help them feel better fast. It’s no different when animals are sick. Livestock producers want to do everything they can to help them feel better fast. It’s understandable why most people want to turn to antibiotics so quickly – it’s what they know to be an effective treatment for illness and disease.
But antibiotics aren’t effective on viruses, whether in kids or livestock.
“Just as physicians have started to try and educate people to not utilize antibiotics in those cases, we're really trying to have the same conversation with the livestock industry,” says Mike Lormore, DVM, head of technical services over pork and cattle for Zoetis.
On June 11, FDA’s Guidance for Industry (GFI) #263 brings 91 over-the-counter (OTC) antimicrobial products from OTC to prescription oversight. This is part of a broader effort by FDA to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a serious threat to animal and public health. Using antimicrobials judiciously, in all settings, can help slow the rate at which AMR develops.
“It's a confidence thing,” says Jim Lowe, DVM, director of the College of Veterinary Medicine I-Learning Center at the University of Illinois. “The regulators have said, ‘Listen, we want some more oversight here, so we have more confidence in the supply chain.’ My perception is we're not changing what we're doing. We're just going to document and tell people what we're doing better. It's about transparency.”
FDA’s guidance is a result of a long conversation around improving the quality of and control systems around antimicrobial use in food production, Lormore explains. Making this transition will ensure the remaining 4% of medically important antimicrobials currently available OTC are used under a licensed veterinarian’s supervision.
Although this guidance doesn’t go into effect until June 11, now is the time for producers to begin preparing if they haven’t done so already.
Why VCPRs Matter
Now is an important time to seek out a veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR). The VCPR is a mutual agreement between the animal owner and the veterinarian where the veterinarian has an understanding of the animals on an operation, the type of care they're given on a regular basis, their purpose, and the risk factors associated with management of those animals, Lormore explains.
“Pig farmers are working every day to protect the food supply and provide safe, nutritious food to customers. This protection includes having a VCPR to provide the most updated treatment and recommended technology to keep animals, and ultimately the public, healthy,” explains Heather Fowler, VMD, National Pork Board’s director of producer and public health.
She says a producer doesn’t need to know everything, but they should know to call their veterinarian when needed, not only to protect their herd, but to also reduce an economic strain or loss of production proactively.
“Our sense collectively is major producers in the U.S. pork industry have veterinarians on their staff, they have good relationships with all kinds of veterinarians, and this guidance is probably not going to impact them very much. It's really directed towards very small operators, or backyard/hobby animal raisers that don't have that same level of expertise,” Lormore says.
However, he notes there are some areas of the country that don’t have as many veterinarians in place. If that’s you, he recommends reaching out to state veterinary medical associations, state livestock producer organizations, friends or other colleagues to find out what veterinary resources they utilize.
Once a VCPR is in place, animal owners would simply contact the veterinarian to discuss the situation at hand and the veterinarian would then provide them a prescription if needed. Every state has a different set of pharmacy laws, so how those prescriptions will be filled will look different throughout the country, Lormore notes.
In general, Lowe doesn’t believe veterinarians are thrilled about the obligation to have to write more scripts and maintain more records. No one likes paperwork, Lowe points out.
“I think some producers have grumbled it’s just a way for the veterinarians to make more money, but I certainly don’t think veterinarians view it that way. We are all going to have to do more work, but how do we make it a positive? Let’s lower costs, create better production, get the right diagnosis, work a little harder and create value out of it. That’s our opportunity,” Lowe says.
Why is antibiotic stewardship so important?
Thanks to advances in hygiene, biosecurity and new technology, America’s pig farmers are making significant strides in protecting their herds from disease, Fowler says.
“This is done in part through relationships farmers maintain with their licensed herd veterinarians, who prescribe and oversee the use of antibiotics and other medications on farm,” she says. “Responsible antibiotic use means using only what’s necessary for pig health. This sensible approach means doing what’s best for animal wellbeing, food safety, and the environment.”
It’s no secret that healthy animals are more productive and more efficient. The goal is always to prevent disease, rather than wait for it to become clinical and have to treat it, Lormore says.
“That being said, the bugs are generally smarter than we are, and they can move faster than we can. So, sooner or later, you will see clinical disease in one shape or form,” he adds.
Lormore believes FDA’s guidance #263 is good for the health of animals because it allows veterinarians who have the appropriate training, experience and expertise to handle these drugs and help talk people through protocol development and treatment protocols when needed.
“We all have to do our part to improve and ensure the viability of antimicrobials going forward. And this is just one way that we will do this in the livestock industry, to show our support for those initiatives,” Lormore says.
Do What’s Best for Your Animals
The goal of all of this is to have better health and welfare for the animals under our care, Lowe explains.
“Nobody likes being told what to do – but the intent is to have a chat about this and make sure it’s right. We are bringing ourselves under the same standard as human medicine in the U.S.,” he says.
Although it’s hard to stand around and wait for your animal to get better, Lormore reminds producers, “Biology takes its own sweet time, and we don't necessarily get a chance to change that timeline. The more producers intervene when it's not necessary, the more likely they are to get an outcome that's not in the best interest of the animals.”
Vaccines are one way livestock producers work to prevent disease rather than treat clinical disease, Lormore adds.
“Mitigating risks of diseases that we can control through vaccinations is both in the best interests of the animals, the best interest of the farms that own those animals and is the least stressful to the animals themselves overall,” Lormore says. “Prevention is always preferred over treatment.”
As foreign animal disease threats rise, Lowe says it’s a great time to foster more conversation between animal owners and veterinarians.
“This is one more excuse to have a conversation about what we are doing for FAD preparedness,” Lowe says. “There’s some other good that can come out of this to build relationships, so we don’t find ourselves at the point of, ‘What do we do now?’”
Read More:
Health Advocates and Online Activists Sue FDA Over Antibiotics in Livestock
DVM Reaches out to Livestock Owners About OTC Antimicrobials Move to Rx
