By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,Horses,Other animalsDr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, has issued a spotlight report: Handle with Care: Preserving Antibiotics Now and Into the Future. There’s nothing too surprising in it, which in a lot of ways is the point. Addressing antimicrobial use and resistance isn’t rocket science, it’s application of a lot of basic, common sense measures.… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,DogsBack in 2008, we reported an association between feeding raw diets to dogs and shedding of cephalosporin-resistant bacteria in dogs (that makes me feel old… one of many things that does these days, I guess). It didn’t get too much attention at the time, since the main focus of the study was on Salmonella, the… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsAs part of our research into antibiotic use and resistance, we’re looking at what drives antibiotic prescribing, use and compliance. It’s a complex subject and needs to be approached from a variety of angles. One angle is looking at what pet owners perceive or want, as this can be an important influencing factor. To address… Continue Reading
By Maureen Anderson on Posted in DogsThe latest companion animal infographic from the Ontario Animal Health Network (OAHN) is now available! Currently the network is working on a series of infographics focused on good antimicrobial stewardship. Stewardship includes knowing when NOT to use antimicrobials, and what to use when antimicrobials are needed. Guidance is available from leading veterinary infection control experts,… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,DogsA recent presentation at ECCMID (European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases) in Amsterdam described a series of linezolid-resistant enterococci in dogs and cats in the UK. I’m only able to get information from media reports, so details are limited (and potentially lost in translation); however, it’s an interesting story. It’s unsurprising in many… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,DogsHot off the press… the newest edition of the International Society for Companion Animal Infectious Diseases (ISCAID) guidelines for the diagnosis and management of bacterial urinary tract infections in dogs and cats has been published in The Veterinary Journal. These are updated and expanded clinical guidelines that have been in the works for the past… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsThis week’s edition of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report has a summary of the 2016-2018 campylobacterosis outbreak linked to pet store puppies. Nothing is particularly surprising, but that doesn’t mean it’s not disappointing (or depressing). Click here for the complete article. Here’s a (relatively) brief summary: It all started when sequencing of Campylobacter jejuni… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs“Use it and lose it” is often said when it comes to antibiotic resistance concerns. Every time we use an antibiotic (in a person or animal), there’s some potential for resistance to emerge. The more we use antibiotics, and the worse we use them, the greater the risk, generally speaking. Questions about the (rampant) use… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in MRSA/MRSP,Other animalsBacteria are smarter than we give them credit for. Or maybe we’re not a bright as we think we are. Antimicrobial stewardship is sometimes (wrongly) assumed to simply be the practice of “using fewer antimicrobials,” but it’s more complex than that, because the issue is complex. At face value, overall reduction in antimicrobial use is… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Animals,Birds,Cats,Dogs,Horses,Other animals,Other diseases,Pocket petsThe post below is reproduced from CANresist.blog. It applies equally for veterinary medicine. I think most people buy into the concept of fossil fuels being finite resources. Someday, they’ll run out or logistics and cost of extraction will make them impractical. Accordingly, we’re thinking about ways to reduce and improve use (to delay the end of the… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in AnimalsAug 8, 2018 addendum: updated versions of the CARSS report are available here: English: https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/phac-aspc/documents/services/publications/drugs-health-products/canadian-antimicrobial-resistance-surveillance-system-2017-report-executive-summary/CARSS-Report-2017-En.pdf French: https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/phac-aspc/documents/services/publications/drugs-health-products/canadian-antimicrobial-resistance-surveillance-system-2017-report-executive-summary/SCSRA-Rapport-2017-Fr.pdf The 2017 Canadian Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (CARSS) report was just released, and as always it contains a lot of data (up to and including 2016). Some are interesting, some are concerning, some are encouraging. I’m not going… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other animals,Other diseasesThe World Health Organization has released new guidelines on the use of “medically important antimicrobials” (MIAs) in food animals. Here’s a list of their recommendations, along with the strength of each recommendation and quality of evidence behind it. We recommend an overall reduction in use of all classes of medically important antimicrobials in food-producing animals (Strong… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other animals,Other diseasesFrom CANresist.blog: Reducing Antibiotic Use in Dairy Calves This topic’s huge, and there’s always a risk of trying to oversimplify the problem or solutions. However, some solutions for some issues might be fairly straightforward. Whether it’s on a farm, in a hospital or in a doctors office, there are situations where I think it’s widely… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Birds,Cats,Dogs,Horses,Other animalsIntroducing CANresist, a new initiative aimed at fostering antibiotic stewardship in Canada across the human and animal health fields and beyond, in order to maintain the effectiveness of these life-saving drugs. Follow us at CANresist.com or CANresist.blog, or on Facebook. Also check out our Twitter feed @CANADAresist, including our #mylastantibiotic tag to talk about the last time… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,Horses,Other animalsIt’s commonly been stated that it’s important to finish your course of antibiotics (whether “your” refers to a person or animal), as a means of reducing the risk of developing antibiotic resistance. That’s never made much sense to me, since more antibiotic exposure is more likely to lead to a risk of resistance emerging. However,… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,DogsI’ve had a lot of emails over the past few months from colleagues from other countries, asking if we’re finding much mcr-1 in Canada. mcr-1 is a gene that makes bacteria resistant to colistin, a “drug of last resort” in people with some highly resistant infections. The gene has emerged in bacteria from both animals… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in CatsSince we developed the first version of the ISCAID guidelines for diagnosis and management of urinary tract infections in dogs and cats in 2011 (revision currently underway), most discussion about them has probably revolved around our recommendations for animals with subclinical bacteriuria. In this condition, an animal has bacteria in the urine, but no signs of disease.… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,Other diseasesA few times a year I get questions about tuberculosis (TB) in dogs, typically after a person is diagnosed with active TB and people want to know what the risks are to, and from, their dog. It’s often tough to answer those questions, because there’s limited information available. Risks exist, but how much of a… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other animals,Other diseasesRecent identification of mcr-1, a gene that makes bacteria resistant to colistin (an antibiotic of last resort) raised a lot of concern. Now, there’s another one to be worried about, as a related gene, mcr-2 has been identified (Xavier et al, Eurosurveillance, July 2016). In this study, 105 colistin-resistant E. coli from calves and piglets… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,DogsA few years ago, the New Delhi metallobetalactamase-1 (NDM-1) antibiotic resistance gene attracted a lot of attention. This resistance gene can be found in (and passed between) a variety of bacteria, and bacteria possessing this gene are resistant to a wide range of drugs. A drug of last resort for those infections is colistin (a… Continue Reading
By Maureen Anderson on Posted in Cats,Dogs,Horses,Miscellaneous,Other animalsSince their discovery in the mid-1900s (which really wasn’t that long ago in the grand scheme of things), antibiotics have revolutionized human medicine, veterinary medicine and even food production. They save lives and prevent illness, helping to make both people and animals healthier, happier and more efficient at what they do. But if we want… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,Horses,Other animalsPrudent antibiotic use. Antimicrobial stewardship. Whatever you want to call it, it’s an important subject. I spend a lot of time working in this area, and figuring out how to effect real change is the challenge. That means getting to prescribers. If I’m at a conference and have a talk titled “Antimicrobial stewardship” (or something… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other diseasesI did a consultation today about a dog that illustrates some of the practical challenges to reducing antibiotic use. It was an older dog with a test result that could be consistent with an infectious disease, but one that is also common in healthy animals. The signs of illness that the dog had would have… Continue Reading
