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Strategies for producing antibiotic-free pork
Livestock

Strategies for producing antibiotic-free pork

Management, genetics and feed reduce the risk of antibiotic treatment in pigs

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Companies avoiding the use of antibiotics use management strategies to eliminate the use of the medications rather than rely on alternative feed ingredients. On-farm protocols used by two “no antibiotics ever” pork brands in the United States include genetics, extended pre-weaning days and unconventional feed schedules. Why it matters: There’s increasing pressure on livestock operations […] Read more
A new antibiotic acts in two ways to control bacteria.
News

New class of antibiotics found to fight antimicrobial resistance

Science Notes: WHO has declared AMR as one of the top 10 global public health threats

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Wistar Institute scientists have discovered a new class of compounds that uniquely combine direct antibiotic killing of pan drug-resistant bacterial pathogens with a simultaneous rapid immune response for combatting antimicrobial resistance (AMR). These findings were published in December in Nature. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared AMR as one of the top 10 global […] Read more
Specialized cellular compartments discovered in bacteria
News

Specialized cellular compartments discovered in bacteria

Science Notes: Discovery of bacterial “organs” could pave the way for a new generation of antibiotics

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Researchers at McGill University have discovered bacterial organelles involved in gene expression, suggesting that bacteria may not be as simple as once thought. This finding could offer new targets for the development of new antibiotics. The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the first to show that E. coli uses similar […] Read more
A research paper estimates that 70 tonnes of two of the most critically important antibiotics in human medicine are sprayed on rice crops in Southeast Asia each year.
News

Antibiotic use on crops more widespread than thought

Science Notes: Few monitoring systems exist, compared to extensive tracking of animal use

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The world is more aware of the overuse of antibiotics and the development of resistance in bacterial populations. This has led to calls for greater control and monitoring of their use in both human and veterinary medicine. What is less well known is that antibiotics are routinely used in crop production and according to new […] Read more
(PrevtecMicrobia.com)
Livestock

Elanco buys swine PWD vaccine maker

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Veterinary drugmaker Elanco Animal Health is expanding its space in the swine sector with a deal to buy the Quebec startup behind Coliprotec vaccines. Indianapolis-based Elanco announced Thursday it has paid $78.5 million to buy Prevtec Microbia, which is headquartered in Montreal with facilities in St-Hyacinthe. The Coliprotec line is meant to help protect pigs […] Read more
When eggs at the Trillium Hatchery are ready to hatch, they are moved to a system where the new chicks drop through to a cleaner area than has been usual in a hatchery, reducing need for antibiotics.
News

Quality chicks, reducing antibiotics drive new hatchery

Trillium Hatchery has a capacity of 20 million chicks per year, with room to expand

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Having dropped from their eggshells directly onto a clean floor with immediate access to feed and water, the first chicks from the brand new Trillium Hatchery made their way onto Ontario broiler farms during the first week of November. A Nov. 13 official ribbon-cutting at the 70,000 sq. foot Stratford facility marked the second opening […] Read more
(Dave Bedard photo)
Livestock

McDonald’s to curb antibiotic use in its beef supply

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Reuters — McDonald’s Corp. said Tuesday it plans to reduce the use of antibiotics in its global beef supply, fueling projections that other restaurants will follow suit. The move by the world’s biggest fast-food chain addresses concerns that the overuse of antibiotics vital to fighting human infections in farm animals may diminish the drugs’ effectiveness […] Read more
Stephen Hutten owns The Hitching Post, a farm supply outlet in St. Mary’s that will no longer be able to sell antimicrobials to farmers under new regulations in effect December 1.
Livestock, News

How managing antibiotics will change December 1

The sector has had two years to get ready, but greater restrictions will come at a cost, and with some surprises for farmers

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Livestock producers across most of Canada will have to get accustomed to securing veterinarians’ prescriptions for a range of commonly-used antibiotics, once new policy changes brought in by the federal health ministry come into effect December 1 (see ‘5 things to know’ at bottom). “The biggest thing for us will be not being able to […] Read more
“We shouldn’t limit ourselves to just single drugs or two-drug combinations in our medical toolbox,” said Pamela Yeh, left, with Elif Tekin.
News

Antibiotic combinations surprisingly effective

Science Notes: Research findings could be a major step in fighting common infections increasingly resistant to antibiotics

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Scientists have traditionally believed that combining more than two drugs to fight harmful bacteria would yield diminishing returns. The prevailing theory is that the incremental benefits of combining three or more drugs would be too small to matter, or that the interactions among the drugs would cause their benefits to cancel one another out. Now, […] Read more
(MDurson/iStock/Getty Images)
Livestock

EU backs plan to tackle antimicrobial resistance

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Brussels | Reuters — EU member states backed a plan on Wednesday to combat antimicrobial resistance, an increasing global health issue, that would reduce the use of antibiotics in the food chain and limit certain drugs to humans. Antimicrobial resistance threatens the effectiveness of medicines such as antibiotics to treat infections in humans, as bacteria […] Read more

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