CDC program to offers ways to reduce use of drugs

By TIM HEARDEN

Capital Press

If antibiotics for livestock are best used sparingly, what's a rancher to do?

Better management of animals can help, explains Chad Mueller, a beef cattle systems researcher at Oregon State University's agricultural research center in Union, Ore.

Changing pen designs, providing clean bedding and keeping feed fresh are just some ways that producers can avoid having to use antibiotics, Mueller said.

"In the past, people have used antibiotics as a correction for poor management," he said. "We've been able at times to get around those instances when we could just manage those animals a little bit better, and as a result not have to use those antibiotics. There are other times when we need to be using them."

The use of antibiotics is appropriate when big weather changes and harsh winters cause animals to become ill, Mueller said. Animals can also develop respiratory diseases from dust, he said.

"If we didn't have that (availability of antibiotics), we'd have a lot less healthy animals," he said. "I'm a big proponent of keeping them but using them more judiciously, not necessarily as a management fix."

Ranchers and feedlot owners can perhaps reduce the need for antibiotics by expanding the size of their pens so animals, particularly cattle, can have drier surroundings, Mueller said.

Often producers keep pens small so they can keep a close watch on animals, but that can lead to muddier conditions, he said.

On the other hand, pens that are too large can create dust problems in areas that don't get a lot of precipitation, he said.

Other measures can include switching out bedding more often and considering the animal's stress level, Mueller said.

"Have they just been weaned? Have they been transported over a long distance? Then they're a little more susceptible to disease," he said. "Maybe then you can clean the pens maybe twice as often for the first couple of weeks and keep things dry. ... That's really what I'm referring to."

Such minor changes can offset the boost that producers sometimes seek with some antibiotics, Mueller said.

"If we can incorporate things that are more stress-free and have less of an impact on their immune systems so those cattle respond better to better nutrition, then we don't need feed-grade antibiotics," he said.

But that doesn't mean that antibiotics are unnecessary in all instances, he said.

"One point I would make is that a lot of people believe if it was a stress-free environment there'd be no sick animals, but that's not the case," he said. "It's like humans. There are a lot of pathogens out there, so even in a stress-free environment you can still have disease outbreaks."

To advance the judicious-use message, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has introduced an educational campaign called Get Smart on the Farm, part of a larger effort to reduce non-essential uses of antibiotics.

The Get Smart curriculum has been developed for use by agriculture officials in several states, including Washington, where a statewide dairy organization is working with eight leading dairies on individualized antibiotic stewardship and biosecurity plans.

The Washington Dairy Federation is also making farm-specific recommendations by providing treatment templates, farm visits and consultations, according to the Get Smart Web site. The group is also educating and training producers on documenting antibiotic use and tracking response.

Similar programs across the country aim to counsel pork, dairy and beef producers, said Tom Chiller, the CDC's associate director for epidemiological science.

The programs aim "to examine best practices and what use was actually going on, and actually look at how we could better communicate with agriculture," he said.