Take care - use antibiotics responsibly producter education program

Abstract

Antimicrobial use in animal production has been a topic of concern with public health, animal health, and consumer advocacy groups. While the contribution of antimicrobial use in pork production to resistant bacteria impacting human health is uncertain, pork producers are committed to their responsibility to deliver safe and wholesome pork to consumers. In the U.S. there has been an ongoing industry effort to provide producers with the educational materials to enable them to provide safe products to the marketplace. We describe the development of a comprehensive producer education and awareness program focused on the responsible use of antimicrobials. The Take Care–Use Antibiotics ResponsiblyTM program is based on a set of principles and guidelines that provide the producer, with consult from their veterinarian, the basis for antibiotic use decision making. The goal of the program is to protect public health while preserving animal health and welfare. Introduction The U.S. pork industry, through the Pork Checkoff, has an ongoing history of providing producers with educational materials about pork safety, including antimicrobial use. These include such programs as the Pork Quality Assurance program, the Judicious Use of Antimicrobials for Pork Producers Guidelines, and a variety of “fact sheets” explaining different aspects of antimicrobial resistance including a Pork Board policy statement on antimicrobial use. With increasing scrutiny on antimicrobial use in agriculture from consumer, government, and public health groups, the Pork Checkoff developed a comprehensive educational program covering all uses of antimicrobials for pork producers. Materials and Methods During the fall of 2003 a series of focus groups with pork producers and veterinarians was conducted. The purpose of these focus groups was to: Explore producer attitudes and current behaviors as they relate to antimicrobial use, identify the key influencers for antimicrobial use, and identify the most effective ways to communicate about antibiotics with producers. In May of 2004, the Pork Checkoff’s Pork Safety Committee approved the concept of the program and program development moved forward. Throughout the summer and fall of 2004, input on the program content and elements was provided by pork producers, swine veterinarians, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Pork Producers Council, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and others. Additional focus groups with producers were held to test program names, messages, and benefit statements. Prior to release of the program, a telephone survey regarding antimicrobial use practices was conducted with pork producers and swine veterinarians. The telephone survey will be repeated one year after release of the program to test if practices or attitudes have been influenced by the program. The Take Care–Use Antibiotics Responsibly program was released in February 2005. Materials have been distributed through direct meetings with producers and via mailings to producers, educators and veterinarians. Agricultural publications have also developed stories that have focused on the program and its benefits. In addition to delivering information about the program to agricultural audiences, the program has also been introduced to public health and other audiences. Results 2003 Focus Groups The veterinarian was identified as the key influencer on antimicrobial use in agriculture, along with university researchers and consulting veterinarians. Secondary influencers included feed and pharmaceutical company representatives, peers, and agricultural