Antibiotic resistance report outlines strategy
The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges Task Force on Antibiotic Resistance in Production Agriculture has released a report outlining “a comprehensive national strategy for diminishing the role antibiotics used in food animal production systems play in the broader antimicrobial resistance problem.”
The report, released last week, also contains a detailed strategy for implementing educational, outreach and research program recommendations, and a full-time program manager has been hired to provide administrative leadership and management, the groups said.
The groups envision a centralized research organization housed at a university to coordinate the educational and research programs that need to be created and operated.
Pilot projects focused on combating antibiotic resistance would be created at several large universities with substantial human medical, veterinary medical, and agricultural centers.
A series of educational workshops and leadership forums uniting personnel from federal agencies, industry, nongovernmental organizations and academic institutions would be convened to explain and advance the task force recommendations.
“Solving problems through the production and application of knowledge is a key role of colleges and universities in society,” said Peter McPherson, president of APLU.
“This is a big challenge with global implications, but it is one our land-grant and public universities are well-qualified to address,” he said.
“Our universities can conduct the research that must be undertaken and transmit the information that must be shared. I think we’ve taken a significant step forward, and we look forward to building on this progress.”
–the Hagstrom Report
