Improving antimicrobial stewardship: RVC research reveals extent of systemic antimicrobial usage in UK equine practice

To mark World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has released new research using real-world antimicrobial prescription data to investigate the use of systemic antimicrobials in UK equine practice. The research, which is the first of its kind, reveals the extent to which antimicrobials are prescribed to equids and uncovers the lack of routine culture and sensitivity testing, particularly prior to the prescription of the 'last resort' Category B antimicrobials, whose efficacy needs to be preserved for the treatment of serious illnesses in human medicine. Antimicrobial resistance poses a significant and increasing threat to human and animal health. Concerns have been raised regarding the potential inappropriate and overuse of antimicrobials in veterinary species, which is known to contribute to the development of resistant bacterial populations. Once antimicrobial resistance develops, it can result in treatment failure in veterinary patients and, due to the proximity in which animals and their owners often live, the potential transfer of resistant bacteria to people. While the investigation of antimicrobial use is vital, to date, little work has been done to monitor antimicrobial use in equids in the UK. Therefore, this study, conducted by the RVC's VetCompass programme and funded by Veterinary Medicines Directorate, set out to do so.