Antimicrobial debate continues at AVMA meeting

Schaumburg, Ill. — Two new resolutions submitted by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Executive Board to the House of Delegates would define the role of veterinarians in the antimicrobial debate.

Resolution 2-2010, submitted by the AVMA Executive Board, would recommend that veterinarians be "involved in the decision-making process for the use of antimicrobials regardless of the distribution channel through which the antimicrobial was obtained."

Resolution 3-2010, also submitted by the AVMA Executive Board, states that AVMA should be at the forefront of discussions about antimicrobial drug availability, specifically regarding regulatory changes.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently called on the industry to phase out antimicrobial use for growth promotion and feed efficiency. The FDA also said that veterinarians should have greater oversight in the use of antimicrobials, the Executive Board notes in its statements about the resolutions. Read more about the FDA's new proposal on antimicrobial use on Page 12.

Both resolutions were created in response to the findings of the AVMA Antimicrobial Use Task Force, which was formed following the 2009 AVMA HOD meetings and the introduction of Resolution 3-2009, which was introduced last year by the New Jersey and Washington veterinary medical associations and by the Association of Avian Veterinarians. It would revise AVMA's current "Judicious Therapeutic Use of Antimicrobials" policy by removing the phrase "when under direction of a veterinarian" from the policy. The policy now states that "judicious use of antimicrobials, when under the direction of a veterinarian, should meet all requirements of a veterinarian-client-patient relationship."

No clear consensus has been reached regarding the year-old resolution, according to the Executive Board, which recommends disapproving Resolution 3-2009 in favor of the adoption of resolutions 2-2010 and 3-2010 as new AVMA policies. The House Advisory Committee also recommended disapproval of Resolution 3-2009, but has yet to weigh in on resolutions 2-2010 or 3-2010.

Get up-to-date coverage of how the HOD voted on these resolutions and more news from the 2010 AVMA meeting at dvm360.com.