Vet Advice: Putting out fires

Vet Advice: Putting out fires

It would be wonderful if reason and common sense would govern everything we try to accomplish. Unfortunately, one of the greatest myths of common sense is that everything that seems obvious at first is. Things only become obvious after you know all the answers, and they never all come. A complicating reality is that humans […] Read more

cattle in a feedlot

Antibiotic use in Canadian feedlots

Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen

September’s column summarized a Beef Cluster project that evaluated antibiotic use in western Canadian cow-calf operations. Nearly all cow-calf farms used antibiotics, but very few animals were treated, and most of the antibiotics used were not related to the antibiotics most commonly used in humans. But when it comes to antibiotic use in the beef […] Read more


Change is upon us

Change is upon us

Animal Health with Dr. Ron Clarke

Regardless of a person’s perspective on changes coming on antibiotic use in the livestock industry, one thing clear: change is not just on the way — it’s arrived on the doorstep. If not ready, it’s time to get ready. Gaps identified in the use and sale of antimicrobials in animals are nearly two decades old […] Read more

Understanding the new drug regulations

Understanding the new drug regulations

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

New regulations governing the purchase and use of antimicrobials (antibiotics) necessitate time spent between veterinarians and producers. Everyone has an opinion. Phrases like “prudent use,” “veterinary-client-patient-relationships,” “veterinary-pharmaceutical stewardship,” “veterinary oversight,” and “documented evidence” pepper the pages of government, academic and veterinary documents issued around antimicrobial use. There is a new vocabulary to be learned, the […] Read more


Farmer With Vet Examining Calf

New drug regulations require adjustment

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

No issue over the past 15 years occupied more space in agriculture, veterinary or public health-related press than antimicrobial resistance (AMR). No single topic appears more often on conference and seminar agendas than topics addressing the use, abuse and prudent use of antimicrobials in humans and animals. Petitions, a plethora of committees of every description, […] Read more

Photo: File

Stop using antibiotics in healthy animals, WHO urges farmers

London | Reuters – The World Health Organization urged farmers on Tuesday to stop using antibiotics to promote growth and prevent disease in healthy animals because the practice fuels dangerous drug-resistant superbug infections in people. Describing a lack of effective antibiotics for humans as “a security threat” on a par with “a sudden and deadly […] Read more


Facts about antimicrobial resistance

Facts about antimicrobial resistance

While the industry is already doing a good job, there is ongoing room for improvement

There have been volumes written on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the last several years. And it is important to remember just how good the Canadian cattle industry is doing in managing AMR and look to future changes veterinarians may make in their recommendations. For those of you craving more detailed information, there have been several […] Read more

E. coli bacteria.

Fighting AMR: A true test of human resilience

The ongoing explosion of antimicrobial-resistant infections continues to plague global health care. Our inability to mount significant countermeasures to resistance, while at the same time enduring the decline in research and development of new antibiotics creates a “perfect storm” and the fear we may be on final approach to a pre-antibiotic era of serious and […] Read more


cattle in a feedlot

Regulatory changes would limit farmers’ vet drug imports

Proposed Health Canada changes will affect how antimicrobials are imported into Canada

For John Prescott, a move to end farmers’ right to import certain veterinary drugs marks a significant turning point in the fight against antimicrobial resistance in Canada. The Public Health Agency announced last year that Health Canada’s Veterinary Drugs Directorate would introduce new regulations requiring veterinary oversight of antibiotics used in food animals, such as […] Read more

The AMR Dilemma: Part 2 – The impact

The AMR Dilemma: Part 2 – The impact

Finding the missing pieces to the puzzle of antimicrobial resistance

Although accurate statistics are difficult to tabulate, over two million people in North America become infected with bacteria resistant to antibiotics annually. At least 23,000 people die as a direct result of these infections. Virtually, all significant bacterial infections in the world are becoming resistant to the antibiotic treatment of choice. Health authorities in North […] Read more