FARMERS must urgently re-think their livestock production systems to reduce their use of antibiotics, for the future good of both animal and human health.

That is the view of experts from the European Food Safety Authority and the European Medicines Agency, who asserted this week that the growing number of bugs evolving resistance to humanity's limited armoury of antimicrobials is now one of the world’s most pressing public health issues.

Continued widespread use of antibiotics in domesticated animals was contributing to this problem worldwide, particularly where low-level doses were used prophylactically to maintain production efficiency in pigs and poultry, said the Euro-health chiefs, so limiting their use to the bare minimum necessary to treat actual infections was now crucial.

The EFSA and the EMA have reviewed the measures taken in the European Union to reduce antimicrobial use in animals and stressed that there was no 'one-size-fits-all' solution – successful reduction strategies had to take into account the local livestock production system and involves all stakeholders, from governments to farmers.

EFSA executive director Dr Bernhard Url said: “It is clear that strategies that are already available can be implemented immediately and will have a positive impact on levels of antimicrobial resistance.

“At the same time, there is a need for innovative solutions – we need to find alternative ways to prevent and treat bacterial infections in animals.”

EMA’s executive director Professor Guido Rasi agreed: “There are only a few new antibiotics in the development pipeline, hence those already available need to be used responsibly, both in humans and animals.

“Collecting data on AMR and antibiotic consumption is key to putting into place effective measures to control AMR and retain the effectiveness of antimicrobials for the benefit of public and animal health."

Alternatives to antimicrobials that have been shown to improve animal health – and thereby reduce the need to use vulnerable antimicrobials – include vaccines, probiotics, prebiotics, bacteriophages and organic acids. The experts concluded that it was reasonable to assume that reducing antimicrobial use in food-producing animals would result in a general decrease in antimicrobial resistance in the bacteria that they carry and the food products derived from them.

However, both the EFSA and EMA pointed out that reducing the use of antibiotics in current livestock systems was not, in itself, enough to deal with the problems arising from the high numbers of animals kept for human food. There was, they said, a need to re-think the business entirely by implementing farming practices that prevent the introduction and spread of the disease into farms and by considering alternative farming systems which are viable with reduced use of antimicrobials.

In February, EFSA and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control are due to publish their annual report on the levels of antimicrobial resistance in food, animals and humans across the EU. EFSA, EMA and ECDC are also working on a report that assesses the link between consumption of antimicrobials and development of resistance in bacteria found in animals and humans – due to be published at the end of July.

For in-depth news and views on Scottish agriculture, see this Friday’s issue of The Scottish Farmer or visit www.thescottishfarmer.co.uk