More than 300 participants joined the FVE seminar on the theme ‘Antimicrobials: a true One-Health issue’ (Brussels, 18 November 2011), where representatives from the academic world in human and veterinary medicine, DG SANCO and the European Parliament presented their views to the audience.

Conclusions agreed upon stress that an appropriate use of antimicrobials is key to mitigating the risk of antimicrobial resistance, as pointed out by the FVE President, Dr Christophe Buhot. The veterinary profession conveyed its wish to work together with stakeholders to be part of the solution and announced a series of actions regarding antibiotics in veterinary medicine.

Veterinarians, farmers, the animal health industry and other stakeholders emphasised the importance of good animal husbandry, including biosecurity, good housing, nutrition, health plans and vaccination. This holistic approach also includes the responsible use of veterinary medicines under veterinary care.

See the conference conclusions, the programme and the presentations on the FVE website.

EPRUMA participated in the 'International Conference on Responsible Use of Antibiotics in Animals', held in Egmond aan Zee, The Netherlands, on 14-16 November 2011. The conference gathered more than 200 delegates from a wide range of stakeholders from 23 countries.

At the event veterinarians, farmers, regulators, authorities, academics and industry exchanged views on the future path regarding the responsible use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine. The conference conclusions included the following points:

• There is consensus on many issues and all stakeholders need to work together while respecting and accepting the diverse reality across regions;
• Despite the complexity of the matters, the current knowledge base on the use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine allows for adequate decision-making and implementation;
• The availability of veterinary medicines, including antibiotics, differs from region to region; their future availability should be ensured to be able to treat animals;
• Educating veterinarians and farmers is critical to enhance responsible use and reach out to a wider public; the position of the veterinarian needs to be strengthened;
• Decisions regarding veterinary medicines, including antibiotics, should be science based, for which communication, dialogue and trust are paramount;
• All stakeholders have the responsibility to raise awareness and acceptance of responsible use of veterinary antibiotics to a wider audience.

The conference encouraged all EU Member States to emulate the RUMA initiative (UK) by establishing national Responsible Use partnerships and by producing detailed species specific guidelines for use by veterinarians and farmers. Such an initiative could be based on the EPRUMA framework document.

It is inspiring to see that RUMA-style initiatives are happening across the EU, for example in Belgium (AMCRA) and Spain (under the Vet+I partnership).

See further details on the conference website.

Brussels, 17 November 2011 – EPRUMA welcomes the Communication from the Commission entitled “Action plan against the rising threats from Antimicrobial Resistance” and its emphasis on Responsible Use.

Bio-security, good housing, good nutrition and herd health plans, coupled with appropriate vaccine use is all part of the Responsible Use approach, with diagnostics guiding the choice of antimicrobial.

EPRUMA has developed a comprehensive website – www.epruma.eu - where guidelines on Responsible Use are available in 10 languages. In order to move from the information-gathering phase to the communication phase, it is important that the Commission’s 5 year strategy supports communication with vets and farmers so that Responsible Use is reinforced as the norm in vets’ and farmers’ daily activities.

EPRUMA launches a video on the animal health industry's role regarding responsible use of veterinary medicines.

IFAH-Europe's Managing Declan O'Brien explains the role of the animal health industry in ensuring responsible use of veterinary medicines and the commitment to the EPRUMA initiative. He emphasises that responsible use is based on a holistic approach and that when disease occurs, diagnosis and treatment under veterinary care should follow.

Mr O'Brien stresses that veterinary medicines should be used according to the instructions given by the veterinarian and reaffirms IFAH-Europe's commitment to work with veterinarians, farmers and other stakeholders to promote the responsible use of veterinary medicines.

See the video by clicking on the image below or by visiting EPRUMA's Youtube channel.

EPRUMA partners presented their initiative to promote the Responsible Use of veterinary medicines to the European Commission DG SANCO's Animal Health Advisory Committee, which is part of the Advisory Group on the Food Chain and Animal and Plant Health on 17th June 2011.

Declan O'Brien, on behalf of EPRUMA partners, explained that the motivation behind launching EPRUMA is to build stakeholder agreement on what constitutes Responsible Use of veterinary medicines. He emphasised that EPRUMA embodies good alignment and collaboration across European stakeholders on animal health. He stated that the goal of EPRUMA is to maintain the long-term efficacy of veterinary medicines.

The EPRUMA partnership considers that Responsible Use complements both policy and legislation in terms of striving to maintain the efficacy of antimicrobials. EPRUMA seeks to ensure that veterinary medicines, including antibiotics, are used according to the licencing conditions and advocates a holistic approach to disease prevention and control.

The presentation referred to the communications activities of EPRUMA and called for institutional support to communicate “Responsible Use” and make a real difference on the ground.