Growing Forward 2 - Final Report Project II | Page 61

CONCLUSION
Six Priority Initiatives include:
• Provide ongoing voluntary professional development opportunities for food-animal
veterinarians regarding antibiotic use.
• Develop and/or update, in collaboration with individual producers, SOPs for
appropriate antibiotic use.
• Promote, across species, the implementation of farm-specific SOPs for appropriate
antibiotic use.
• Develop an education program for producers on appropriate on-farm antibiotic use.
• Design a strategy for the implementation of mandatory producer training on
appropriate antibiotic use.
• Promote the standardization of veterinary laboratory data and reporting that
identifies changes in antibiotic resistance patterns.
As the threat of resistance to antibiotics mounts, so do
responses to that threat. Changes are being made at the global,
national, provincial and local levels. Ontario food-producing
animal veterinarians have expressed their willingness, and have
created strategies, to serve as champions for change on a local
level. These Priority Initiatives indicate the importance that food-
producing animal veterinarians place on farm-specific SOPs,
on-going training for both veterinarians and producers on
appropriate antibiotic use, and the observation of trends in
antibiotic resistance patterns through laboratory data and
reporting.
In CVO Project I, Ontario food-producing animal veterinarians
described their use of antibiotics, and expressed their concern
about the increasing threat to human and animal health, posed
by antibiotic resistance. Their willingness to be stewards of
antibiotic use in food-producing animals was expressed, and they
made suggestions for over 100 potential actions to impact the
use of antibiotics. Subsequently, by seeking stakeholder input at a Multi-
Stakeholder Forum, and through a Stakeholder Consultation
Survey, very specific and detailed tactics to support each of
the Priority Initiatives were developed and an Action Agenda
for Veterinary Stewardship of Antibiotic Use in Food-Producing
Animals in Ontario was created.
CVO Project II built on the results of Project I. Through an
iterative survey process, food-producing animal veterinarians
selected six specific Priority Initiatives that they can champion,
on a local level, to help to minimize the development of
antibiotic resistance.
These six Priority Initiatives include:
• Provide ongoing voluntary professional development
opportunities for food-animal veterinarians regarding
antibiotic use.
• Develop and/or update, in collaboration with individual
producers, SOPs for appropriate antibiotic use.
• Promote, across species, the implementation of farm-
specific SOPs for appropriate antibiotic use.
• Develop an education program for producers on
appropriate on-farm antibiotic use.
• Design a strategy for the implementation of mandatory
producer training on appropriate antibiotic use.
•
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Promote the standardization of veterinary laboratory
data and reporting that identifies changes in antibiotic
resistance patterns.
Recognizing the need for focused and skilled leadership
to ensure execution of the Action Agenda for Veterinary
Stewardship of Antibiotic Use in Food-Producing Animals in
Ontario, four key veterinary leadership organizations in Ontario
have undertaken this role. The College of Veterinarians of
Ontario, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural
Affairs, the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association and the
Ontario Veterinary College have recently formed the Ontario
Veterinary Leadership Collaborative on Antimicrobial Resistance
with a broad purpose to focus on information sharing, identifying
opportunities for promoting awareness, and facilitating
alignment and coordination of relevant initiatives. In addition,
the Collaborative will assume a role in promoting communication
within the veterinary community and its key stakeholders
regarding AMR and veterinary stewardship. Setting an Action
Agenda for Veterinary Stewardship of Antibiotic Use in Food-
Producing Animals in Ontario: Final Report will be forwarded
to the Collaborative for its consideration, further guidance and
monitoring of progress.
CVO Projects I and II have provided Ontario veterinarians the
opportunity to create cross-species strategies, on multiple levels,
to steward antibiotic use in food-producing animals in Ontario
and be part of the crusade against antibiotic resistance that is
threatening human and animal health.
Setting an Action Agenda for Veterinary Stewardship of Antibiotic Use in Food-Producing Animals in Ontario