World Antimicrobial Awareness Week 2022

This week (18 – 24 November 2022) is World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, and the theme is ‘Preventing Antimicrobial Resistance Together’ for the food, animal, agriculture and human health sectors. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has the potential to affect us all — therefore, promoting the responsible use of antimicrobials is everyone’s responsibility.

Also notable is the fact that 18 November 2022 is National Agriculture Day – at the AVA, we acknowledge the fantastic role that veterinarians play in the agriculture industry and global food supply, and the significant impact they can have on the prevention of AMR.

In line with our advocacy focus on One Health, the AVA supports World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW). However, we also recognise that veterinarians are busier than ever, so we have collated a list of resources to help vets apply the principles of antimicrobial stewardship to their everyday practice.

The AMR Vet Collective

The AMR Vet Collective (www.amrvetcollective.com) is a community of veterinarians, researchers and academics who have come together to support best practice in the age of antimicrobial resistance. Their aim is to be a one-stop shop of AMR and AMS resources for veterinarians. Specific resources that veterinarians might find useful as a quick reference:

• Guidelines page: this has a number of species-specific guidelines, all of which are handy and accessible in the one place.
• Your Practice page: this page gathers a number of downloadable resources for your practice, for you to display in your waiting room, consultation rooms, pharmacy, practice manager’s office and work car. There are also resources that can be used to share on social media, and practical resources such as decision trees and diagnostic refreshers.
• Podcasts: these contain the latest information about AMR for a number of different species, including species-specific clinical cases where antibiotics are used. They are accessible via the website or on Spotify.

More information about the AMR Vet Collective can be found on their website, as well as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Spotify.

The University of Melbourne Antimicrobial Stewardship Guidelines

Researchers at the University of Melbourne have prepared evidence-based guidelines that were created in a collaborative effort between the University of Melbourne’s Asia Pacific Centre for Animal Health (APCAH) and the National Centre for Antimicrobial Stewardship:

• Companion Animal, Equine and Bovine guidelines are available, covering both medical and surgical applications.
• They have a series of educational videos and recommendations, available here.
• One of the most successful parts of their recent 135-clinic AMS trial was implementing a traffic light system in clinics, where antibiotics are labelled with a coloured red, orange or green sticker to indicate the ASTAG importance rating of that drug. These stickers serve as a constant reminder that there are differences in risk with different antibiotics. Posters and resources can be found here.

Veterinarians can also follow their Facebook group, where they share clinical tips, articles of interest and bust antibiotic myths.

Australian Veterinary Association resources

Here at the AVA, we have also collated a number of links and resources, as well as published prescribing guidelines for pigs, cattle, poultry and sheep.

Recently, Australia’s Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Mark Schipp also wrote about raising awareness of AMR.

In summary

Responsible use of antimicrobials should be a year-round effort, but World Antimicrobial Awareness Week places this important issue firmly front and centre, highlighting the fact that when it comes to the prevention of antimicrobial resistance, we are all in this together.