HEALTH - Ricky's Restaurants Switch to Antibiotic & Hormone Free Meat

The Ricky's Group of Family-Style Restaurants announced it will be the first full-service Canadian-owned family restaurant chain to begin serving pork entrées on its breakfast menu that have been raised without any antibiotics or added hormones.

This step has been taken by other restaurants, notably A&W who promote this to consumers who are concerned about what is in what they eat.

Actions limiting antibiotic and hormone use are also in response to the rise in antibiotic resistance around the world.

The World Health Organization considers antimicrobial resistance a global concern.

Their website explains: “Antimicrobial resistance occurs naturally over time, usually through genetic changes. However, the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials is accelerating this process. In many places, antibiotics are overused and misused in people and animals, and often given without professional oversight. Examples of misuse include when they are taken by people with viral infections like colds and flu, and when they are given as growth promoters in animals and fish.”

As reported in InfoStream, the US is implementing the Veterinary Feed Directive to control the use of antibiotics in animals and the Canadian Government is also putting in new regulations for antimicrobial use by veterinarians.

Ricky's Senior Vice President Stacey Hansson said in a release, "We strongly agree with and support the 'don't take unnecessary antibiotics' message, telling the public that we don't need antibiotics every time we are not feeling well. And we definitely don't need them in our food. Antibiotics are for the sick, not the hungry."

The restaurant chain has been working with their pork producers for over a year on this initiative and is now working with its beef and chicken suppliers to make similar changes.

HEALTH - Regulation of Antimicrobial Use by Canadian Veterinarians

A recently closed public consultation held by the Government of Canada is leading the country one step closer to addressing concerns surrounding the problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) related to veterinary drugs.

Duane Landals of Veterinarians Without Borders has a lifetime of experience in the profession and is heavily involved with helping to devise a national strategy to address AMR concerns.

In addition to managing a clinical practice, Landals' background includes 15 years as registrar and CEO of the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association, as well as president of both the Alberta and Canadian Veterinary Medical Association and as vice president of the World Veterinary Association for two terms.

“I’m totally involved with the AMR picture…it’s a very visible, global issue,” he said.

“But to address AMR, we have to look at antimicrobial use.”

In dealing with the absence of regulation of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) used in manufactured drugs and the human use of antimicrobials in animals without veterinary oversight, Health Canada initiated the public consultations that would lead to proposed regulatory changes seeking to address the growing problem of AMR in human and veterinary medicine.

The proposed changes, which are welcomed by the veterinary industry as a whole, include:

• requirement that APIs imported or sold in Canada must adhere to Good Manufacturing Practices (currently they do not)
• required licensing for those who import, test, label, fabricate or package APIs
• restriction of own use importation of unauthorized veterinary drugs
• requirement that manufacturers, importers and compounders of veterinary antimicrobials provide sales volume information by species
• and introduction of an alternative, less burdensome pathway for manufacturers to legally import and sell certain low-risk veterinary drugs, known as veterinary health products (VHPs).
  
  

The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association welcomes the changes.

“We have a long history of antimicrobial use in food-producing animals,” said Landals, adding that under the new changes this would be required to be overseen by a veterinarian and would be on an as-needed basis or by prescription – a change that is also in response to public demand for food free from hormones, met with the ‘Raised with Care’ public education campaign.

Every antibiotic will become prescription-only under the new regulation, much like the Veterinary Feed Directive being implemented in the U.S. as of January 2017.

“The culture of how we use antibiotics is changing,” said Landals, making reference to the health and safety of the public. “There should be no surprise.”

Landals said one of the biggest challenges is in the development of a national policy that would lead to provincial policy changes, emphasizing “there is a disconnect” between the national and provincial levels, that working groups are trying to address.

“The biggest thing is that we need consistencies between provinces,” he said, stressing that the United Nations now refers to AMR as a “world global crisis”.

Landals said he does not believe the impact will be felt on companion animal owners.

By Lindsay Seewalt

Lindsay is an experienced journalist and mother of three whose heart and home is always open to a four-legged friend. With her Corgi, Angie, as household editor-in-chief, Lindsay gives back to the animal planet through the written word on anything and all ado about pets. She is passionate about topics regarding animal welfare and responsible pet ownership, which she aims to instill in both her readers and children to be compassionate animal lovers who are conscious and considerate that furry friends around the globe deserve a voice.

HEALTH - Drug Resistance a Serious Concern for Animals & Humans

Antimicrobial resistance is a significant and growing concern in healthcare for both humans and animals. New research suggests that it’s possible our pets are contributing to the rise of drug resistant microbes in humans, or vice versa.

Antimicrobial drugs include antibiotics, antifungals, antiprotozoals, and antivirals.

These drugs are critical in treating infectious diseases, and it’s difficult to even imagine the number of lives they have saved. Stopping something that seems relatively small in the age of antibiotics, such as a urinary tract infection (UTI), can be life saving.

Although the “antiobiotic era” refers to the last 70 years of widespread antimicrobial use, there is evidence that humans have benefited from antibiotics since as early as 350-550 CE. Traces of antibiotics have been found in human bones from Sudanese Nubia, and there is evidence of exposure to antibiotics in late Roman period skeletons in Egypt.

Despite these early uses of antimicrobials in traditional and ancient medicine, the mass production and distribution of penicillin in 1945 revolutionized the use of antimicrobials. Prior to the introduction of widespread antimicrobials in human healthcare, small infections could become big problems very quickly.

And it’s possible that healthcare is returning to a time of infections without reliable treatments.

A 16-year study of companion animal UTI in Portugal found that resistance to cephalosporins grew from 2 percent to 20 percent between 2004 and 2014. Although the study looked specifically at companion animals, the bacteria in question, Proteus mirabilis, is common in animals and humans and the drugs used to treat it are the same. This research suggests that dogs, in particular, may be acting as “reservoirs” for the resistant microbes, and transmitting these microbes to their humans.

Another study into the rise of antimicrobial resistant E. coli found that resistant strains of the infection spread through a household between pets and owners.

While it’s not clear whether pets are harbouring the resistant infections and transmitting them to humans, or vice versa (and it’s likely working in both directions), it is clear that this issue will just keep growing.

Although many new classes of antibiotics were found between the 1950s and 70s, no new classes have been found since. With the decline in discoveries, scientists have modified existing antibiotics, and found ways to synthesize and combine them.

The infectious agents - bacteria particularly, but also fungi, viruses, and parasites - are adapting to even these modified and synthesized antimicrobials. Mortality rates from multi-drug resistant bacterial infections are already close to 25,000 patients per year in the EU and more than 63,000 patients die from hospital-acquired bacterial infections in the US each year.

The rise of drug resistant infections is a complex issue, with antimicrobial resistance developing in pet animals, food animals, and among humans.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has recently established a Committee on Antimicrobials which will develop and recommend an overarching strategy that will allow the veterinary profession to effectively share robust and comprehensive recommendations for policy, and its implementation with legislators, regulators, the marketplace and other stakeholders.

The committee will also serve as the lead AVMA entity in the association’s collaboration with similarly focused stakeholders - including the human medical community - in a One Health approach to the issue of antimicrobial resistance.

One way to reduce the risk between companion animals and humans is to be cautious and intentional in handling food and waste. Washing hands thoroughly after cleaning the litter box or picking up any feces, cleaning food bowls regularly, and disinfecting household surfaces can all help prevent the spread of antimicrobial resistant infections.

CDC

By Tiffany Sostar

Tiffany is a writer, editor, academic, and animal lover who came late to her appreciation of pets. At 18, a rescue pup named Tasha saved her from a depression and she hasn't looked back. She has worked as the canine behaviour program coordinator for the Calgary Humane Society, and was a dog trainer specializing in working with fearful and reactive dogs for many years. She doesn't have any pets right now, but makes up for it by giving her petsitting clients (and any dogs she comes across on her frequent coffee shop adventures) extra snuggles.

CVMA Antimicrobial smartvet app now available

The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) has released a new treatment decision application, Antimicrobial SmartVet. 

Developed by a veterinary expert panel, the SmartVet app is an antimicrobial treatment decision tool for companion animal practitioners. This app will guide you through the process of selecting appropriate antimicrobial therapy for specific bacterial diseases of cats and dogs. 

The bilingual app is available through the Apple or Google Play stores. CVMA members can access a desktop version of SmartVet online at: http://apps.canadianveterinarians.net

CVMA supports and encourages all veterinarians to use antimicrobials prudently. Read CVMA’s Position Statement on Antimicrobial Use in Animals. 

The development of CVMA's SmartVet app was made possible with funding support from the Canadian Animal Health Institute.