Vets Warn New Medicine Regulations Could Threaten Animal And Human Health
Veterinary Ireland has raised major issues regarding new medicine regulations on the application of drugs in treating some infections in animals noting that the changes might actually aggravate the situation, making the treatments pointless.
Recent legislation passed under the Veterinary Medicinal Products, Medicated Feed and Fertilisers Act may present considerable dangers to public health and affect the agri-food sector of Ireland.
The organisation representing vets stressed that failure rates to parasite treatment are rising internationally and they do not only impact animal health but human health as well because of disease connections. This resistance makes parasitic infections in livestock go untreated and can thus thwart Irish grazing-based farming systems.
“This flexibility in feeding and range use and therefore the ability to farm livestock on grazing systems is only possible where parasitic disease can be managed effectively,” Veterinary Ireland said in its submission on resistance management.
The new rules allow an assessment without having to consult with the farmer directly: A retailer completes a form, which is then forwarded to a vet, who writes a prescription.
This system, vets say, sidesteps senior veterinary scrutiny and undermines the position of evidence-based, farm-focused guidance that takes into account such things as incidence rates, animal density, and prevailing circumstances.
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Conor Geraghty, Chairman of Veterinary Ireland medicines working group said, ‘we need to wrap the correct product to the correct animal at the correct time to address the issue of resistance.’ He also noted that appropriate periodic and individual advice from a veterinarian Within the CPPR context is pertinent in the control of parasitic disease.
He also condemned the new medicine regulations for contributing to the emergence of anti-parasitic resistance claiming that the new regulation of requiring an alternative prescriber protocol will jeopardise the minister for agriculture’s efforts in disease prevention and control.
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“Farmers must consult their own vet to get the correct advice on the intensity of dosing which will reduce the number of antiparasitic medicines used, thereby cutting cost and increasing yields,” Geraghty added while appealing to the Minister to encourage farmers and vets to work closer.
Newer risks, according to Hazell Mullins, President of Veterinary Ireland include new Regulations regarding diluted 24-hour availability of veterinarians. Mullins said the prescribing vet, who can sometimes have no information on what is happening in a particular farm can just cover for adverse reactions, leaving the Irish farmer with compromised veterinary care that they used to receive.
Another concern was raised by vet Bill Cashman of Cork who opined that through improper use of the treatment with the new medicine regulations, some of the animals will be vulnerable to infections and therefore antibiotics which leads to antibiotic resistance in humans.
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In response, the Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue went on to say “It is quite crucial to involve proper expertise in veterinary when prescribing mew medicine regulations, equally making sure that farmers obtain those new medicine regulations from various sources at affordable costs without compromise. I am confident that the current regulations for administering the current medicines appropriately balance the two.
Veterinary Ireland continues to advocate for the prioritisation of scientific, vet-led new medicine regulations that are safe enough to protect both animal and public health against the dangers of drug resistance.
The organisation stresses that without proper oversight and tailored advice and carelessly implementing the use of new medicine regulations, the risk of ineffective treatments and the spread of resistant infections will only continue to grow, posing severe challenges to sustainable farming and public health protection.
