BVA and BDA back calls for better use of antibiotics

The British Veterinary Association (BVA) and British Dental Association (BDA) have backed calls for the need for more responsible guardianship of antibiotics.

Coinciding with European Antibiotics Awareness Day, the associations have joined with other leading human and animal medical organisations – including the British Medical Association and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society – to call for industry-wide unity on this effort.

The BVA was keen to underline the fact this is an issue for vets as well as human doctors, with a recent survey from the organisation showing that three out of five vets see clients who expect antibiotics to treat their pets.

Despite this expectation to prescribe, there is a lack of understanding about responsible antibiotic use, with 70 percent of vets reporting poor owner compliance. In the long-term, this creates the risk of commonly-used therapies becoming useless in future.

BVA president Sean Wensley said: "Antimicrobial resistance is too important an issue for uncoordinated approaches amongst the medical professions."

Meanwhile, BDA president Professor Nairn Wilson added: "All health professionals have a responsibility to draw a line under inappropriate or unnecessary use of antibiotics."