A22-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 10, 1999 (Continued from Page A 1) by some in universities and human health advocate agencies, by the use of antibiotics in poultry, which already takes careful, scientifically approved measures to regulate these procedures? Dr. Sherrill Davison, assistant professor in avian medicine and pathology at the University of Pen nsylvania’s New Bolton Center, spoke about these issues during the first of a two-day Penn State sponsored Pennsylvania Poultry Sales and Service Conference. Davison spoke Tuesday after noon to more than 100 poultry pro ducers and agri-industry represen tatives at the Holiday Inn in Grantville. Simply put, what human health physicians and poultry veterina rians prescribe are antibiotics or antimicrobials. Antibiotics are produced by bacteria to kill disease-causing organisms. Antimicrobials are defined as antiobiotics or synthetic compounds that serve the same purpose. Davison spoke Tuesday afternoon to more than 100 poultry producers and agri-industry representatives at the Holiday Inn in Grantville. Simply put, what human health physicians and poultry veterinarians prescribe are antibiotics or antimicrobials. Antibiotics are produced by bacteria to kill disease-causing organisms. Antimicrobials are defined as antiobiotics or synthetic compounds that serve the same purpose. Davison spoke about not only the controversy surrounding the issue of bacteria resistance but the fact that of what the poultry veterinarian can use, there is very little, she said. The controversy, Davison noted, is: does anti microbial use in food potentially affect human health? Do the resistant bacteria that can develop get into the human food chain? According to the poultry veterinarian, advo cates of the USDA/FDA-approved use of antimi crobials note there is “no scientific evidence” that the resistant bacteria show up in humans as a result of using antibiotics or antimicrobials in poultry. However, she noted opponents of the use of antimicrobials in poultry can provide “lots of sci entific evidence.” Part of the problem may be too many physi cians, under pressure from their patients, don’t judiciously prescribe antibiotics. Because the patients insist, doctors are forced to use antibio tics wrongly to treat viral infections. This “over prescription” of antibiotics in humans could point to why bacteria are becoming more resistant. Physicians need to educate people about the proper use of antibiotics, to treat bacterial, not viral, infections. Human health professionals must become more aware of this. Poultry health experts need to do a better job of convincing peo ple of the need for antimicrobials and antibiotics in animals. “What we need to do is preserve the antimicro bials we have,” Davison said, before the pressure becomes too great from those who are unedu cated about the benefits and wrongly convinced of their dangers. And she said we need to find ways to prevent the overuse of antibiotics in peo ple. Also, antimicrobials in cats and dogs con tinues to be widely used, but little is known about how human health can be effected. Antimicrobials have two uses in poultry and livestock in general: • Subtherapeutic measures or as growth prom otants. These are used in low levels to prevent disease while promoting an animal’s growth. • Therapeutic uses to treat current flock dis ease include the use of the antimicrobials at the appropriate dosage and in the correct time period Veterinarians need to make “judicious and prudent use of antimicrobials at the therapeutic level,” said Davison. To prevent disease and to allay the public’s fears of the use of antimicrobials in poultry, the American Veterinarian Medicine Association and European Union have come up with the fol- • Disease prevention through a properly managed poultry hygiene and vaccination program. • The development of a working veterinary/client relationship. Pro ducers should consult with a flock health provider. • “Know what we are treating for,” said Davison. Often some veterinarians see an increase in mortality and are too quick to start antimicrobial use. • If using antimicrobial, select a “narrow-spectrum” compound, not simply a “shotgun” type prepa ration that treats bacteria not present • Treat for the appropriate time period. Note withdrawal times. Consult with the producer to estab lish effectiveness of the recom mended treatment Davison advocates the use of preventative measures such as overall poultry health to stop dis ease, rather than relying solely on therapeutic methods. For poultry producers, it is important to follow quality assur- Caution mice programs, such as the Pen nsylvania Egg Quality Assurance Program, and Hazard Analysis Cridcal Control Point (HACCP) programs already in processing plants to stem disease. The industry as a whole does “follow good, preventative methods to decrease problems,” Davison told those who attended the conference. But methods of preventing disease with other methods other than antimicrobials are necessary to secure their use at a future time. It has been suggested by some that, in the future, birds should be subject to the use of anti biotics on a tightly controlled, prescription-only basis. Concern about resistance should be “everybody’s responsibility,” said Davison. “I think the poultry industry does a good job in preven tative measures.” And the industry as a whole must do a better job in educating the general public. Con sumers need to prepare food prop erly, use antibiotics if prescribed for the right reasons, and “preserve Must Follow Antibi the usefulness of antimicrobials few the future," she said. On Tuesday, a wide range of additional industry topics were also addressed. Operations Research More than ever, poultry produc ers are looking at ways to use a sci entific approach to their manage ment decisions. Universities have a name for that discipline. It’s called “opera tions research,” in which the tenets of science and technology meet as a tool for producers to sharpen their feed formulations, hone ami no acid prediction and disease diagnosis, and find ways to improve animal and facility efficiency. In fact, according to Bill Roush, Penn State associate professor of poultry science, the tools of opera tions research have become so exciting to the industry that Penn State itself recently introduced a new animal science program which offers masters and docto rates in operations research. sTjpv, t =f, v -* ' ' t- -v i Jfc ' f^ Speakers at the Pennsylvi from left, Rich Galutia, Roush, Penn State associi executive vice president; Pi swine specialist; and Mike I program coordinators. " *■-’£■s- " I?''
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