Tag: antimicrobial resistance

UK launches world-first study to assess antibiotic resistance levels in healthy dogs and cats

SCOTLAND’S RURAL COLLEGE TO LEAD RESEARCH

New, groundbreaking research to protect both animal and human health from antibiotic-resistant infections is underway to develop the world’s first dedicated surveillance system in healthy dogs and cats, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) has announced.

Over half of UK adults own pets and live with them in a shared environment, meaning that bacteria, including resistant bacteria, can spread easily between animals and people. All animals and humans have bacteria in their bodies and in many cases these bugs do not cause any harm.

However, some bacteria can be resistant to antibiotics which can lead to serious human or animal health consequences if they cause an infection. Through this study, the VMD seek to understand more about the levels of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in household pets across the UK, to better protect public health and the health of our pets.

Pet owners across the UK will be contributing to the research programme; the study aims to identify the most reliable methods for understanding AMR in dogs and cats and will include outreach to households and veterinary practices to submit faecal samples from the animals they live with and look after. 

These samples will generate AMR surveillance data in healthy companion animals for the first time.

Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) will conduct the pilot study over 4 years and bring huge expertise in this field of work, having established surveillance programmes in other countries. 

Abi Seager, VMD CEO said: “Antimicrobial resistance is one of the most serious global health threats that we face.

“I am proud to launch this ground-breaking AMR surveillance project in healthy cats and dogs with SRUC, who have a proven track-record of establishing surveillance programmes from the ground-up, and this new study is a truly One Health intervention to tackle AMR.

“A recent report published by the Public Accounts Committee on AMR, highlighted the need to address surveillance gaps in animals and we are pleased the VMD is already driving progress in this area.”

John Berezowski, Professor in Disease Surveillance at SRUC’s Rural and Veterinary Innovation Centre (RAVIC) in Inverness, said: “This initiative is critical for a better understanding of the transmission and maintenance of AMR in our pets. Our experts have worked hard to develop a practical AMR surveillance system.

“We plan to follow a team approach, working with pet owners and their vets as we explore how best to collect samples for surveillance throughout the UK.”

This work will build on existing surveillance programmes in animals, coordinated by the VMD. Currently, in companion animals in the UK, surveillance for AMR only covers a limited number of clinically unwell animals and no country currently has representative national surveillance of AMR in healthy dogs and cats.

The work also follows a similar study recently carried out by UKHSA, looking at the levels of resistant bacteria in healthy people.

VMD are also working to address gaps in clinical surveillance data from companion animals under veterinary care, by addressing barriers to public-private AMR data sharing. This work is being funded by the Integrated Security Fund Biosecurity Portfolio and is being conducted in partnership with the University of Liverpool and private veterinary laboratories.

New research explores antimicrobial resistance in Scotland’s waters

Research by James Hutton Institute and Heriot-Watt University scientists has carried out the first review of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Scotland’s waters.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, are a major source of concern for public health. According to the World Health Organisation, new resistance mechanisms continue to emerge and spread globally, threatening our ability to treat common infectious diseases and endangering the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations.

Work by Hutton and Heriot-Watt researchers, funded by Scotland’s Centre of Expertise for Waters, considered the available information on antimicrobial resistance in Scotland’s waters and identified emerging monitoring approaches and potential technological solutions for detecting and tackling antimicrobial resistance.

Findings will help policymakers develop solutions for detecting, monitoring and reducing antimicrobial resistance in Scottish waters.

Dr Lisa Avery, a senior environmental microbiologist at the James Hutton Institute’s Environmental and Biochemical Sciences department and co-author of the study, said: “So far, there has not been enough monitoring of antimicrobial resistance in Scotland’s waters to know how widespread or how concentrated the levels of resistant microbes, genes and resistance-driving chemicals are.

“Globally, lots of different methods are used for detecting resistance. The most common ones are to detect antibiotic resistant bacteria by culturing (growing) them and using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) – based methods to detect specific resistance genes. Our study found no consensus on the best detection method.”

Dr Helen Bridle, Associate Professor at the Institute of Biological Chemistry, Biophysics and Bioengineering of Heriot-Watt University added: “A diversity of approaches is needed for research purposes.

“However, if we can develop some guidelines so that those researching or monitoring resistance in waters are encouraged to use at least one or two of the same approaches across all of the different studies, this would help in understanding antimicrobial resistance and how it is linked across humans, animals and the environment.”

At a recent meeting of the Scottish Parliament, Maree Todd MSP, Minister for Public Health, Women’s Health and Sport, said: “We need to recognise that antimicrobial resistance does not affect only humans.

“Bacteria with the potential to become resistant to antibiotics exist in animals and in the environment. For that reason, we require a one health approach to the threat that recognises that the health of people is closely connected to the health of animals and our shared environment.”

The researchers conclude that agreement across methodological approaches and guidance would support technology developers to develop and validate new approaches for detecting antimicrobial resistance, as most current methods are developed for the clinical, rather than environmental field.

It’s hoped that treatment technologies can remove antimicrobial resistance, but cost-benefit analyses are needed to compare different treatment and mitigation strategies.

A spokesperson from SEPA commented: “SEPA welcomes the publication of the Centre of Expertise for Waters’ (CREW) policy briefing, which provides valuable insights to better understanding the risks of AMR in Scotland’s water environment.

“There are many sectors and activities we regulate that have the potential to exacerbate the spread of AMR through the environment, and we are committed to playing our role in understanding and helping to address the issue.

“Through research and multi-agency collaboration we are working to ensure that interventions are developed and implemented in a way that recognises how the health of people is closely and inextricably linked to the health of animals and our shared environment. This includes our involvement in key groups such as the One Heath Breakthrough Partnership and the Scottish One Health National AMR Action Plan Group.”

The policy outputs, including a policy note (Antimicrobial resistance in Scotland’s waters) and policy brief (Technologies for monitoring and treatment of antimicrobial resistance in water), are both available from the CREW website [https://www.crew.ac.uk/publications]. 

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