Bayer Animal Health has developed an educational antimicrobial guide for small animal vets to use in practice, to launch its ‘Education Now, Safeguarding Antimicrobials’ initiative.Bayer Animal Health has developed an educational antimicrobial guide for small animal vets to use in practice, to launch its ‘Education Now, Safeguarding Antimicrobials’ initiative.

The guide has been written by Simon Tappin, European and RCVS Recognised Specialist in Veterinary Internal Medicine at Dick White Referrals, and is designed to offer practical advice on the appropriate use of antibiotics in general practice. It covers a range of topics including how to create an antibiotic practice policy, ways to optimise therapy and how to limit the development of antimicrobial resistance. 

Simon said: "Making rational and informed antimicrobial choices is vitally important in veterinary medicine, both for the welfare of our patients and in reducing the risk of developing antimicrobial resistance.

"Highlighting this issue to vets, providing education and supporting them in making these decisions is crucial to ensure a responsible approach to antimicrobial prescribing."

Recent surveys have highlighted the need for education on this topic, with 63 per cent of vets1 stating that they would like to improve their knowledge on antimicrobials, and 90 per cent of vets2 admitting that they are concerned about antimicrobial resistance.

In addition, there's a quiz where you can test and your knowledge on antimicrobials, and enter a competition to win an iPad Pro. The quiz can be accessed at https://veraflox.typeform.com/to/KY8lxX.

The guide is available from the Bayer Vet Centre, www.vetcentre.bayer.co.uk. Alternatively, you can download it here www.bit.ly/Veraflox2016 or contact your local Bayer Territory Manager.

References

  1. Bayer survey amongst 456 vets investigating attitudes towards antibiotic use, conducted in March 2014
  2. BVA’s Second Voice of the Veterinary Profession Survey, September/October 2014

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