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
Tag Archives antibiotics
Strategies for producing antibiotic-free pork
Management, genetics and feed reduce the risk of antibiotic treatment in pigs
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
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
Science Notes: Discovery of bacterial “organs” could pave the way for a new generation of antibiotics
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
Antibiotic use on crops more widespread than thought
Science Notes: Few monitoring systems exist, compared to extensive tracking of animal use
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
Elanco buys swine PWD vaccine maker
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
Quality chicks, reducing antibiotics drive new hatchery
Trillium Hatchery has a capacity of 20 million chicks per year, with room to expand
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
McDonald’s to curb antibiotic use in its beef supply
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
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
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
Antibiotic combinations surprisingly effective
Science Notes: Research findings could be a major step in fighting common infections increasingly resistant to antibiotics
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
EU backs plan to tackle antimicrobial resistance
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
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
