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Conversations about resistance are changing

An animal health expert says it’s in the best interest of all sectors of animal and human health to work together to slow the rate of antibiotic resistance.

The Deputy Director of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine says any use of antibiotics, whether it is in humans or in animals, has the potential for driving antibiotic resistance.

Bill Flynn says the conversations about antibiotic resistance have finally started to change, “What we’ve seen in a real positive light in the past few years is, I think, a real move towards looking for solutions and putting more energy towards not debating whether there is an issue, but in fact, putting more energy into solution.”

He tells Brownfield maintaining the efficacy of those tools is a necessity, “Given the fact that they’re extremely important tools for dealing with animal health issues.”

Flynn says effectively combating resistance of shared class antibiotics needs to be a collaborative effort between human and animal health practitioners.