The discovery, development, clinical use and introduction of antimicrobials into human and veterinary medicine as well as food animal and plant production transformed the management of infectious diseases in the 20th century.
Equine veterinarian using a microscope for research.
The horse owning public and veterinarians can no longer expect or dispense antimicrobials without evidence that an infection is caused by organisms that are confirmed sensitive to a specific antimicrobial treatment.
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Critically, antimicrobials significantly improved the quality of human and animal life. Apart from the effective treatment of bacterial and fungal infections, the effect of antimicrobials is also reflected in increasingmeatproductionyieldsthathashelped to feed an ever-growing human population.
Now, the availability and uses of antimicrobials are taken for granted by all who were born after the Second World War.
Sadly, the injudicious, widespread overuse in human as well as veterinary medicine has rapidly led to a precipitous decline in their effectiveness because of rapidly spreading antimicrobial resistance among pathogens.
This real and present threat is making antimicrobials ineffective in controlling infectious diseases in human and animal patients. The United Nations Environment Health Programme document, “Environmental Dimensions of Antimicrobial Resistance,” quotes, “Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is already a leading threat to global health and risks adversely affecting the environmental sustainability of the planet.”
Equine infectious disease management is now faced with adopting strategies to stop expectations that antibiotics and antifungal medicines should routinely be used indiscriminately for the prophylaxis of infections that may or may not occur as a consequence of viral infections, surgical procedures or stallion and broodmare management.
The horse owning public and veterinarians can no longer expect or dispense antimicrobials without evidence that an infection is caused by organisms that are confirmed to be sensitive to a specific antimicrobial treatment.
Clinical investigation and diagnostic procedures must be aided by the appropriate laboratory investigations and antimicrobial sensitivity testing. In practice, the dilemma is that this approach is slower than a rapidly progressing infection. The judicious use of a broad-spectrum antibiotic until microbial culture and sensitivity results are available may then be considered as a first treatment step.
Press release by Equine Disease Quarterly - Research and article by Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center Lexington, Kentucky