The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, founded as OIE) are organizing a webinar to be streamed on WOAH YouTube. from 14.00 (UTC +7) on 12 February 2024 to launch a new publication, guidelines on monitoring antimicrobial use (AMU) at the farm level.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major health threat to humans, animals, plants and the environment. The misuse and overuse of antimicrobials in animal production, including in aquaculture are key drivers of AMR.
WOAH has been collecting data on antimicrobial agents intended for use in animals, mainly coming from national sales and imports records of antimicrobials, from its members since 2015. To complement this information and improve decision-making, farm-level antimicrobial use (AMU) data are needed, as it allows for better understanding of how antimicrobials are used in the field.
Therefore, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (FAO RAP), the WOAH Regional Representation for Asia and the Pacific (WOAH RRAP) and the WOAH Sub-Regional Representation for South-East Asia (WOAH SRR-SEA) developed joint guidelines on monitoring antimicrobial use at the farm level.
The guidelines provide detailed guidance on establishing a farm-level AMU monitoring system:
- conducting a situational analysis
- establishing an operational mechanism
- technical preparation