One of the amazing but common place tech things that I still find really cool is the multi-participant webinar. The NZVA recently hosted one to coincide with Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) Awareness Week, and various speakers raised some really good points and insights:

An article in the Lancet modeled that 35 million deaths globally would be attributable to AMR by 2030, with an impact on food supply and health costs. The WHO and the UN have made this issue a priority. The One Health model underlines the connection between people, animals and the environment. Antimicrobial resistance can transfer between bacteria across these lines. We have a role and responsibility in this space because it is included in free trade agreements with the EU and the UK.

So, what can we do as vets and farmers?

• Design an Animal Health Plan which details Preventative Health Measures
• Vaccination programs are a simple example –
  we should be considering routine vaccination for Salmonella as well as Lepto
• Only use antibiotics when needed
• Teat Seal and anti-inflammatories have increasingly been taken up as alternatives
• Foot-trimming and hoof blocks
• Nutritional scours are best treated with fluids, electrolytes
• Colostrum management including brix-testing to identify the Gold stuff,
  and blood testing calves to monitor colostrum uptake
• Milk cultures on cows with mastitis or high cell count, either in clinic or the Mastatest system.
  No growth or non-toxic gram negative infections may best be treated with anti-inflammatories.
• Wearables / collars / good cow monitoring will identify cow health issues early
• Accurate feed budgets to minimize stress, monitoring transition period
• Milking Management Visits to check teat scores and monitor milking health to reduce mastitis risk
• BCS and Locomotion Scoring to identify issues and get ahead of them early

If we reduce unnecessary use of antimicrobials, we increase the likelihood of them working when we need them!