Diagnostics and the challenge of antimicrobial resistance: a survey of UK livestock veterinarians' perceptions and practices.

BACKGROUND: This paper explores the current role and place of diagnostic tests in the treatment of farm animal disease. With the growing focus on reduced reliance on antibiotic medicines in both animal and human patient care, attention is increasingly being focused on the practice, the technology and the function of diagnostic tests and how these can support responsible antimicrobial use. Emerging diagnostic technologies offer the possibility of more rapid testing for bacterial disease, while food chain actors and others are increasingly seeking to make diagnostic tests mandatory before the use of critically important antibiotics. METHOD: This paper reports the findings of a recent large-scale online survey of UK farm animal veterinarians (n=153) which investigated current veterinary diagnostic practice with particular attention to the relationship between diagnostic test use and antibiotic treatment. RESULTS: Results revealed a range of factors that influence veterinary diagnostic practice and demonstrate the continuing importance of clinical observation and animal/herd knowledge in the selection of antibiotic treatment. CONCLUSION: The findings identify a considerable ambivalence on the part of farm animal veterinarians regarding the current and future uses of rapid and point-of-care diagnostic tests as a means of improving clinical diagnosis and addressing inappropriate antibiotic medicine use.

Do UK sheep farmers use orf vaccine correctly and could their vaccination strategy affect vaccine efficacy?

Orf, a parapoxvirus, is a zoonosis causing a contagious pustular dermatitis, and has a high morbidity in sheep worldwide. Despite a vaccine being available, orf prevalence in England is estimated to be 2 per cent in ewes and 20 per cent in lambs​​. There is concern that farmers are not complying with the vaccination guidelines and therefore the objective of this study was to investigate if orf vaccine is used correctly on sheep farms in the UK and to identify barriers and motivators of sheep farmers to use the vaccine. The survey was completed by 570 respondents. The results show several areas of concern; only 27 per cent of respondents used the correct site (axilla), 37 per cent of respondents would use orf vaccine up to a week after opening a vial (shelf life is eight hours), 33 per cent of respondents would vaccinate their ewes too close to lambing and 73 per cent of respondents did not separate vaccinated and non-vaccinated animals (both leading to infection risk for non-vaccinated animals). When vaccinating, only 53 per cent of respondents were wearing gloves and 31 per cent washed their hands just before and immediately after vaccination. Results demonstrate that orf vaccination is not carried out correctly on all UK sheep farms, which is likely to affect vaccine efficacy. A concern around vaccine efficacy, the 'hassle' of the scratch administration, the 'risk of making it worse' and the zoonotic risk when vaccinating were the most common barriers for using orf vaccine, highlighting the importance of veterinary advice when prescribing orf vaccine.