All cattle farmers are being asked to help compile an accurate assessment of antibiotic use within their herds in a major national survey.
Carried out by the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers and the University of Bristol, the survey was launched in response to the O'Neill Review.
"The O’Neill Review on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) concluded that both a local and global focus across animal and human medicine is required if we are to win the battle to maintain the efficacy of antibiotics," explains RABDF Chairman Mike King.
The completed surveys, which will be kept totally anonymous, will be made available to the University of Bristol research and reproduced in research articles.
The final data will also be presented to the Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture (RUMA) Alliance’s task force which has been established to specifically examine how meaningful targets can be developed to replace, reduce and refine antibiotic use in UK agriculture.”
The publication of 'Tackling Drug Resistant Infections Globally: Final Report and Recommendations', by Lord Jim O’Neill, was applauded as a 'global landmark in the fight to keep antibiotics effective for both animals and people'.
Economist Jim O’Neill, charged two years ago by David Cameron with finding answers to one of the most pressing problems in the world today, says the global financial cost of no action would be the loss of 10 million lives a year by 2050 and £69tn ($100tn) a year.
