Why responsible antibiotic use is crucial

Antibiotics revolutionized both human and veterinary medicine. They protect not only animal health and welfare but also food safety and public health.

This educational content aims to promote responsible infection control in the veterinary practice. This article is designed to support veterinarians and farmers in implementing sustainable antibiotic use and One Health principles.

One Health

WHO launched the One Health Initiative to bring together efforts on human, animal, and environmental health across the organization.

One Health is a comprehensive and integrated approach designed to sustainably balance and improve the health of people, animals, and ecosystems.

It emphasizes that the well-being of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants, and the broader environment -including ecosystems- is deeply interconnected and mutually dependent.

Although health, food, water, energy, and environmental issues each have sector-specific challenges, cross-sector and interdisciplinary collaboration is essential to safeguard health, tackle threats such as emerging infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and food safety, and to maintain ecosystem integrity.

By linking humans, animals, and the environment, One Health supports the entire spectrum of disease management—from prevention and detection to preparedness, response, and control—while strengthening global health security. (Source: One health)

Before you decide to start a treatment, it is crucial to fully understand the root causes of the problem. The therapeutic process should always begin with a comprehensive analysis of the herd's health status and proper identification of the pathogen.

Environmental factors — housing conditions, hygiene, nutrition, and animal welfare — play a decisive role in determining the animals' immunity and overall condition. Even the most carefully selected pharmacotherapy will not provide a lasting effect unless these elements are optimized. Treatment based solely on antibiotics, without removing the factors that favor disease, will always be a short-term solution.
Treatment should be evidence-based and targeted at the actual cause of the disease. Before using an antibiotic, make sure you know exactly what causes the problem you are dealing with.

Modern diagnostic tools allow for quick and precise identification of the pathogen and assessment of its susceptibility to drugs. Using antibiotics "blindly" or too broadly is a major cause of increasing bacterial resistance to antibiotics.
Stopping a disease is only the first step. To consolidate positive results and reduce the risk of relapses or new threats, it is essential to implement comprehensive preventive actions:
- Maintain high hygiene standards and proper housing conditions,
- Ensure balanced and adequate nutrition,
- Strengthen biosecurity and limit unnecessary animal relocation
- Provide animals with an environment that minimizes stress,
- Apply regular parasite monitoring and deworming when needed,
- Use vaccination programs to support herd immunity and long-term protection.

Responsible Antibiotic Use Is Crucial

The Rise of Resistance

The first signs of antibiotic resistance appeared in the 1940s, shortly after penicillin was introduced. In the following decades, similar phenomena were observed with nearly every new class of antibiotics.

1950–1970: Extensive use of tetracyclines and aminoglycosides; rising resistance in E. coli and Salmonella.

1980s: MRSA emerged as a major hospital problem.

1990s: Global rise of resistance to fluoroquinolones and cephalosporins.

21st century: Appearance of "superbugs" (MDR/XDR), resistant to all known antibiotics.

Impact on Human Health and Animal Production

Antimicrobial resistance affects both people and livestock farming.
Its consequences are far beyond medicine, influencing food safety and farm economics:

Longer hospital stays and higher treatment costs for human patients,

Increased risk of death from infections that were once easily treatable,

Threats to modern medical procedures such as surgeries, chemotherapy, and transplants,

Reduced efficiency and higher losses in animal production when infections cannot be properly controlled.

Antibiotics in Animal Farming

From Routine Use to Responsible Practice

In the past, antibiotics were commonly used on farms — not only to treat sick animals but also to prevent diseases or even to help animals grow faster.
Over the years, this approach has changed completely.

Today, in the European Union, antibiotics can only be used for treatment or, in rare cases, for disease prevention in individual animals when prescribed by a veterinarian.

Using antibiotics to promote growth has been completely banned since 2006.

Rational and Responsible Use — Key Principles

Responsible antibiotic use starts long before treatment begins. Good herd management and disease prevention reduce the need for antibiotic use and make treatments more effective once they are truly needed.

Key principles include:

Ensuring proper animal welfare and farm management,

Maintaining high hygiene standards and strong biosecurity,

Using vaccination and preventive programs to protect herd health,

Carrying out precise diagnostics before prescribing antibiotics,

Applying targeted treatment instead of “blind” therapy,

Following correct dosage and treatment duration as advised by a veterinarian.

There are currently no complete alternatives capable of fully replacing antibiotics. However, by strengthening prevention, management, and vaccination, we can significantly reduce the need to use them. Their effectiveness must be preserved for future generations.

Veterinary Perspective

Recent progress includes a new injectable fluoroquinolone for cattle and swine respiratory diseases (BRD/SRD), approved in 2024 — the first major innovation in about two decades.
There is also active research into phage therapies, engineered peptides, and improved diagnostics.

Why Responsibility Still Matters

The number of genuinely new veterinary antibiotics remains very limited.
Even if new options appear, irresponsible use will quickly lead to resistance.

Core rules:

Use antibiotics only when necessary,

Select narrow-spectrum products and shortest effective therapies,

Prevent disease through vaccination, biosecurity, and herd health management

Alternatives and Complements to Antibiotic Therapy

Preventing disease is always better than treating it. Healthy animals, good management, and strong prevention help to reduce the need for antibiotics and improve productivity, welfare, and farm sustainability.

Biosecurity — The Foundation of Herd Health

Biosecurity means keeping diseases out of the herd and stopping them from spreading.

Every farm can improve health results by following a few key rules:

Control the entry of people, animals, and vehicles,

Maintain strict hygiene and regular disinfection,

Apply “all-in, all-out” production systems,

Separate age groups and avoid unnecessary mixing,

Quickly isolate any sick animals,

Keep continuous records and monitor health performance.

Gut Health, Probiotics, and Microbiota Support

A healthy digestive system supports a strong immune system. Stabilising the gut flora helps animals resist infections, recover faster after stress, and grow more efficiently.

Probiotics and prebiotics help to maintain a stable and healthy gut microbiota, reducing the growth of harmful bacteria. Early-life microbiota support, introducing beneficial bacteria to newborn animals, helps prevent colonization by pathogens, especially in poultry. Results can vary depending on farm conditions and product quality, so monitoring and consistency are key.

What Can We Do

The best way to fight resistance is to prevent disease before it appears.
Every farm and every person involved in animal care can make a difference through daily, practical actions:

Improve welfare and farm management: provide good housing, proper nutrition, ventilation, and reduce stress.

Strengthen biosecurity: limit disease entry, ensure hygiene, and follow “all-in, all-out” production systems.
Focus on prevention before treatment: use vaccination programs and parasite control to keep herds healthy.
Use better diagnostics: distinguish between bacterial and viral infections to choose the right treatment.
Share and monitor data: track antibiotic use and resistance trends across sectors.
Work together: veterinarians, farmers, doctors, and policymakers all have a shared role in protecting antibiotics for the future.

Challenges

Misuse of antibiotics in humans and animals — e.g., over-prescription or blind therapies, excessive metaphylaxis.
Regulatory differences — inconsistent laws between countries create gaps in global control.
Data gaps — lack of comprehensive monitoring, especially in developing regions.
Economic pressures — it may be easier and cheaper to use antibiotics than to invest in prevention.
Limited R&D pipeline — few new antibiotics, especially for veterinary use.

This content is based on publicly available scientific reports and European regulations related to responsible use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine.