Linee guida sull’uso prudente degli antibiotici negli animali

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance is a natural phenomenon of adaptation determined by the selective pressure of evolution which is emphasized using the antimicrobial drug, as it happened in past years in veterinary medicine with its use for prophylaxis or as growth factors. However, it is also necessary to consider in the consumption of antimicrobials in human medicine: in 2019 in Italy antimicrobials has been the category of drugs most used by the population. General medicine practitioners are responsible for an inappropriate use of antibiotics, such as for viral infections, and they usually choose antimicrobials whose use implies a higher risk of development of resistance. Another critical point of the AMR issue concerns agriculture, where some Countries have authorized the preventive use of antibiotics in crops to guarantee the production. By the opinion of the World Health Organization, antimicrobial resistance is one of the most relevant public health issues in Europe and in the World and has to be considered in a “One health” perspective. Antibiotics are extremely important for health care, both in humans and animals, and antimicrobial resistance can compromise the use and effectiveness of life-saving therapy, such as chemotherapy or organ transplantation. The actual situation concerning with the antimicrobial resistance in Europe and the direct consequences of this phenomenon on the health and economic field is alarming, with the risk of the advent of a "post-antibiotic era", in which common infections and minor injuries can become fatal. Considering this, it is easy to understand why it is essential to ensure that antibiotics that still prove effective continue to represent a therapeutic resource. To control the phenomenon and avoid the terrible scenarios regarding with health and the economic field are required a series of appropriate measures. These actions, with a "One health" perspective, involve all citizens, human and veterinary medicine and agriculture. The most important actions are the “prudent use” of antibiotics, the measures aimed to monitoring the use of the antimicrobials and antibiotic resistance and raising public awareness on the issue of AMR. Aim of this thesis work is to report the activities performed in veterinary field to control AMR, through a critical revision of the different guidelines. Despite to the important progresses made in veterinary medicine that are witnessed by the achievement of many pre-established purposes and a drastic drop in the consumption of antibiotics, especially in animals intended for breeding, it can be seen that these actions can still be profoundly improved, all together in veterinary, human and agriculture fields.