By working together, veterinarians and animal owners have an essential role to play in preventing antimicrobial resistance and safeguarding antibiotics for when they are needed most in human and animal health.

This is the message from the New Zealand Veterinary Association Te Pae Kīrehe for World AMR Awareness Week from November 18-24, a week that is also promoted by agencies such as the World Health Organisation and Ministry for Primary Industries to reduce the development and spread of drug-resistant infections.

This year’s international theme is: "Educate. Advocate. Act now".

The NZVA launched a series of videos on Monday that raise AMR awareness by challenging some of the common misconceptions about antibiotics. The underlying message is for animal owners to work closely with their vet teams and reduce antimicrobial use by keeping vaccinations up-to-date, and using good hygiene and animal welfare practices.

NZVA AMR Committee Chair Annabel Harris said everyone has a part to play in preventing AMR.

"We’ve lived in a golden age where antibiotics have been readily available," Harris said.

"They have been and continue to be an amazing tool, but the reality is we’re not developing new antibiotics that will treat infections without damaging the host, and we’ve already seen the effects of AMR in New Zealand and overseas.

"We’ve got this taonga in the form of antibiotics that we need to protect. It’s easy to forget what it was like when we didn’t have access to these amazing tools, so it’s on all of us to protect them. Preventing further AMR is possible and there are practical ways we can all achieve this."

Myth-busting video launch

This World AMR Awareness Week the NZVA is also busting common myths about antibiotics used for animals in five fun videos.

Launched on Monday, the series, ‘Myth-busting antibiotics and animals’, features veterinarian Dr Stephen (Hoppy) Hopkinson discussing common misconceptions about antibiotics with great tips on how you can help protect these important medicines.

Dr Hopkinson said it’s important to remember that the antibiotics used for animals are the same ones used for humans, and if they stop working, we risk not being able to treat deadly infections.

"Like our own doctors, vets prescribe these drugs very carefully because overusing them or prescribing them for the wrong things can lead to resistant superbugs. We really encourage animal owners to work with their vet teams to reduce the need for antibiotics."

The first myth-buster video, ‘Antibiotics can fix everything’, is now available HERE. In total, they’ll be sharing five videos - one a week for the next five weeks.

NZVA CEO Kevin Bryant said they have come a long way to protect the long-term effectiveness of antibiotics, but there is still work to do.

"Veterinarians, large animal and companion animal owners; lifestyle block owners; and animal industries all have a part to play in reducing the use of antibiotics to safeguard them for our future," he said.

"We believe more research is also required to support the prevention of illness and disease in animals to reduce the need for antibiotics."

For more about World AMR Awareness Week, click HERE

About the NZVA

The New Zealand Veterinary Association Te Pae Kīrehe (NZVA) is the only membership association representing New Zealand veterinarians. The NZVA currently represents a membership of 2345 New Zealand veterinarians.

AMR happens when viruses, bacteria, or parasites change and no longer respond to medicine, making them difficult or impossible to treat. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said antimicrobial resistance is one of the top global public health and development threats. To ensure antimicrobials remain effective for people and animals when they are needed, it’s important that antibiotics are used sparingly.

Vaccinations are a critical tool in preventing the development and spread of drug-resistant viruses and bacteria, along with good hygiene and taking sensible steps to stop infections from developing or spreading.

While the NZVA stresses the importance of preventing AMR this World AMR Awareness Week, they also are celebrating the great work being done across the veterinary sector and animal industries to reduce antibiotic use. A recent Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) report shows that the total sales of veterinary and horticultural antibiotics in New Zealand were down for a sixth year running (45 per cent). In the past year, sales of antibiotics critical to human health were almost halved.

In June, New Zealand’s poultry industry was presented with the NZVA’s Antimicrobial Resistance Award for recognising the immense work it has done to reduce antibiotic use in chickens. To help achieve the NZVA’s goal that by 2030 New Zealand will not need antibiotics for the maintenance of animal health and wellness, a traffic light system was introduced for veterinary professionals to support the judicious use of antibiotics.