By Krishna Ramanujan
Researchers hope that by closing a critical gap in monitoring antimicrobial use in dairy cows, poultry and companion animals, animal caretakers may make more informed decisions when treating pets and livestock and help reduce antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can proliferate when the medicines are used.
The project is made possible thanks to a five-year, $7.5 million grant from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Resistant bacteria could jeopardize food security for over 2 billion people and increase annual healthcare costs by $159 billion annually by 2050, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.
The researchers say it is challenging to monitor antibiotic use in animals because farmers and veterinarians are reluctant to share that data, and because of inconsistent standards of measurement. The team hopes to make it easier to collect existing data by addressing reasons why farmers and veterinarians don’t trust sharing information.
The project aims to develop a secure data repository that aggregates antimicrobial use statistics while keeping individual information private and secure. A dashboard that provides average national and local antimicrobial use may help farmers and veterinarians make smarter decisions about how to treat their animals.
Source : cornell.edu