This first volume in a two-volume work enhances readers’ understanding of antimicrobial resistance mechanisms in selected bacterial species that cause diseases in major food producing animals. It provides an overview of the current legislation and policies seeking to regulate the authorisation, manufacturing, distribution and use of veterinary antimicrobials in practice in a way that helps to contain the spread of antimicrobial resistance. The focus is put on Europe, without neglecting the global context. Moreover, attention is paid to various uses of antimicrobials in livestock, considering both their risks and benefits, from the distant past to the present. Growth promotion, prophylaxis, metaphylaxis, diagnostics and treatment are discussed not only with regard to food production and animal health, but also considering the One Health concept, which combines public and animal health with environmental aspects. A summary of various systems for monitoring the use of antimicrobials is provided, as well as an overview of the diseases that European veterinarians most often treat with antimicrobials. In closing, the book addresses the complexity of recent measures that are of key importance for antimicrobial stewardship, e.g. biosecurity, vaccination and other preventive tools including the newest technologies like smart farming. The complete two-volume work provides an extensive review of various aspects related to the use of antimicrobials in veterinary medicine, especially considering major food producing species, their most common infectious diseases and causative pathogens, and mainly focusing on the situation in Europe, without ignoring the global context. While Volume I discusses more general aspects of antibiotic use such as regulatory, laboratory and practical issues from different perspectives, Volume II more specifically discusses medical aspects and the use of antimicrobials in cattle, pigs, poultry and horses, as well as pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, two of the most important factors determining the success of treatment. In both volumes, each chapter confronts the reader with open questions to stimulate further discussions and future research on the topics covered.

Globalization of the food supply has created conditions favorable for the emergence, reemergence, and spread of food-borne pathogens-compounding the challenge of anticipating, detecting, and effectively responding to food-borne threats to health. In the United States, food-borne agents affect 1 out of 6 individuals and cause approximately 48 million illnesses, 128,000 hospitalizations, and 3,000 deaths each year. This figure likely represents just the tip of the iceberg, because it fails to account for the broad array of food-borne illnesses or for their wide-ranging repercussions for consumers, government, and the food industry-both domestically and internationally. A One Health approach to food safety may hold the promise of harnessing and integrating the expertise and resources from across the spectrum of multiple health domains including the human and veterinary medical and plant pathology communities with those of the wildlife and aquatic health and ecology communities. The IOM's Forum on Microbial Threats hosted a public workshop on December 13 and 14, 2011 that examined issues critical to the protection of the nation's food supply. The workshop explored existing knowledge and unanswered questions on the nature and extent of food-borne threats to health. Participants discussed the globalization of the U.S. food supply and the burden of illness associated with foodborne threats to health; considered the spectrum of food-borne threats as well as illustrative case studies; reviewed existing research, policies, and practices to prevent and mitigate foodborne threats; and, identified opportunities to reduce future threats to the nation's food supply through the use of a "One Health" approach to food safety. Improving Food Safety Through a One Health Approach: Workshop Summary covers the events of the workshop and explains the recommendations for future related workshops.

The use of drugs in food animal production has resulted in benefits throughout the food industry; however, their use has also raised public health safety concerns. The Use of Drugs in Food Animals provides an overview of why and how drugs are used in the major food-producing animal industriesâ€"poultry, dairy, beef, swine, and aquaculture. The volume discusses the prevalence of human pathogens in foods of animal origin. It also addresses the transfer of resistance in animal microbes to human pathogens and the resulting risk of human disease. The committee offers analysis and insight into these areas: Monitoring of drug residues. The book provides a brief overview of how the FDA and USDA monitor drug residues in foods of animal origin and describes quality assurance programs initiated by the poultry, dairy, beef, and swine industries. Antibiotic resistance. The committee reports what is known about this controversial problem and its potential effect on human health. The volume also looks at how drug use may be minimized with new approaches in genetics, nutrition, and animal management.

WHO has launched new guidelines on use of medically important antimicrobials in food-producing animals, recommending that farmers and the food industry stop using antibiotics routinely to promote growth and prevent disease in healthy animals. These guidelines aim to help preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics that are important for human medicine by reducing their use in animals.

The Fifth Edition of Antimicrobial Therapy in Veterinary Medicine, the most comprehensive reference available on veterinary antimicrobial drug use, has been thoroughly revised and updated to reflect the rapid advancements in the field of antimicrobial therapy. Encompassing all aspects of antimicrobial drug use in animals, the book provides detailed coverage of virtually all types of antimicrobials relevant to animal health. Now with a new chapter on antimicrobial therapy in zoo animals, Antimicrobial Therapy in Veterinary Medicine offers a wealth of invaluable information for appropriately prescribing antimicrobial therapies and shaping public policy. Divided into four sections covering general principles of antimicrobial therapy, classes of antimicrobial agents, special considerations, and antimicrobial drug use in multiple animal species, the text is enhanced by tables, diagrams, and photos. Antimicrobial Therapy in Veterinary Medicine is an essential resource for anyone concerned with the appropriate use of antimicrobial drugs, including veterinary practitioners, students, public health veterinarians, and industry and research scientists.

Long the scourge of developing countries, fake pills are now increasingly common in the United States. The explosion of Internet commerce, coupled with globalization and increased pharmaceutical use has led to an unprecedented vulnerability in the U.S. drug supply. Today, an estimated 80% of our drugs are manufactured overseas, mostly in India and China. Every link along this supply chain offers an opportunity for counterfeiters, and increasingly, they are breaking in. In 2008, fake doses of the blood thinner Heparin killed 81 people worldwide and resulted in hundreds of severe allergic reactions in the United States. In 2012, a counterfeit version of the cancer drug Avastin, containing no active chemotherapy ingredient, was widely distributed in the United States. In early 2013, a drug trafficker named Francis Ortiz Gonzalez was sentenced to prison for distributing an assortment of counterfeit, Chinese-made pharmaceuticals across America. By the time he was arrested, he had already sold over 140,000 fake pills to customers. Even when the U.S. system works, as it mostly does, consumers are increasingly circumventing the safeguards. Skyrocketing health care costs in the U.S. have forced more Americans to become "medical tourists" seeking drugs, life-saving treatments and transplants abroad, sometimes in countries with rampant counterfeit drug problems and no FDA. Bitter Pills will heighten the public's awareness about counterfeit drugs, critically examine possible solutions, and help people protect themselves. Author Muhammad H. Zaman pays special attention to the science and engineering behind both counterfeit and legitimate drugs, and the role of a "technological fix" for the fake drug problem. Increasingly, fake drugs affect us all.