New BEVA president Bruce Bladon has addressed the role of equine practice in the downfall of antibiotics in his role as guest editor of the Equine Veterinary Journal (EVJ).

Growing resistance to antibiotics is a serious concern and poses a global threat to horse health.

It is estimated that 10 million people will die because of antimicrobial resistance by 2050. Bruce believes public interest in the threat of the demise of antibiotics appears limited.

Bruce selected 15 of the most relevant articles on the subject from the EVJ, an international equine veterinary science journal, and its sister journal Equine Veterinary Education. He aims to highlight the significant risk resistance posed and the need to monitor and change protocols in equine practice.

No available data

Despite several individual studies and surveys on food animal veterinary antibiotic usage in terms of wholesale turnover taking place, there is no national data on antimicrobial usage within equine practice.

“Ultimately, the issue is reducing antimicrobial resistance, particularly in the human healthcare field,” said Bruce.

“It is acknowledged that surgeon behaviour is a limiting factor in the adoption of appropriate surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis policies. Maybe if a clinician was persuaded that avoiding antibiotic prescription would reduce the incidence of antibiotic resistance, they might be more inclined to withhold prophylactic treatment. There is a need for a national surveillance programme. If you cannot measure it, you cannot manage it.”

Bruce, the principal equine surgeon at Donnington Grove Equine Vets, was appointed president of BEVA for 2024-26 in September.

He hopes to start a national antibiotic monitoring programme so that the use of antibiotics in equine practice can be published alongside farm animal usage data in the Veterinary Antimicrobial Resistance and Sales Surveillance (VARSS).

The virtual EVJ issue, which is free to view until 20 January 2025, can be found here.

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