Antimicrobial use and resistance in cow-calf herds: Has anything changed after the switch to prescription only sales of medically important antimicrobials?

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Veterinarians and livestock producers face huge pressure to use antimicrobial drugs carefully and safely. Globally, threats to human and animal health are rising from strains of microbes that are resistant to these drugs. Antimicrobials are precious resources that must be preserved for use in human and veterinary medicine. Livestock must be given the right dose of the right drug, for the right reason, at the time and the beef industry is critically evaluating antimicrobial use. In December 2018 Health Canada's new regulations ordered prescriptions for antimicrobials in food animals. To measure the impact of these changes and other antimicrobial strategies, Canada's livestock industry needs current, reliable data. Our research will map current antimicrobial use and resistance in beef cow-calf herds and compare results to pre-2018 data. What has changed with new regulations? How will future changes impact today's baseline? We will survey cow-calf producers and veterinarians on how their antimicrobial use has changed since 2018. We will also test individual animals for resistant microbes to identify how to better monitor and reduce antimicrobial resistance. Our data will support industry decisions and updated regulations on antimicrobials in Canada's beef industry.Research to document prudent antimicrobial use and identify areas for improvement is essential for the beef industry, which supplies a $2.75 billion export market. The beef industry contributes $16 billion to Canada's GDP. In addition to increased regulatory, consumer and food service interest in antibiotic use practices, this research also presents an opportunity to identify how to communicate best practices regarding antibiotic use and general animal health and production practices to minimize the risk of antibiotic resistance. Our partners include Canada's beef producers through the Beef Cattle Research Council and Alberta Beef Producers. Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture and the Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance are also collaborating.