Antibiotic advisory website updated

A website set up to promote responsible use of antibiotics on farms has been updated to provide farmers with a 'one-stop shop' on the subject. 

The Responsible Use of Animal Medicine (RUMA) alliance's http://www.farmantibiotics.org/ website includes a range of resources to help farmers and vets meet the antibiotic challenge. 

It includes a summary of progress being made by each sector, case studies, latest news, blogs technical tips and a farmer and vet ideas hub. It also includes useful background on antimicrobial resistance (AMR).  

RUMA says the website has been set to 'communicate facts and the work of the scientific, agricultural and food production communities, inspire change in farmers and among farming communities, and help inform interested members of the public'. This is in the context of the ‘One Health’ strategy for tackling AMR in people, animals and the environment.

The website describes AMR – and more particularly, antibiotic resistance – as one of the greatest threats to human health globally. Experts predict that without policies in place to reduce antimicrobial use, resistance could be responsible for 10 million deaths each year globally by 2050 and in the UK, it has been placed on the Government’s national risk register alongside terrorism and pandemic ‘flu.

"Antibiotic resistance has the potential to affect anyone and apportioning blame achieves little in terms of progress. In order to save our antibiotics, it is time to work together and take action," it says.