Antimicrobial Stewardship - Top Priority for CVMA

Antimicrobial stewardship remains a priority issue for the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association.

The following highlights what CVMA has done to date to advocate for change and encourage the prudent use of antimicrobials in animals:

• Veterinary Community and Partners Hold Workshop to Identify Requirements for National Surveillance of Antimicrobial Use 
• Canadian Veterinary Medical Association Receives Funding to Lay Foundation for National Surveillance of AMU
• Veterinary Oversight of Antimicrobial Use – A Pan-Canadian Framework for Professional Standards for Veterinarians
• CVMA Participates in On-Farm Antimicrobial Use Surveillance Workshop
• 2016 CVMA Summit: Antimicrobials in Animal Health — The New Reality
• CVMA Participates in First Federal, Provincial, Territorial Antimicrobial Resistance Steering Committee
• CVMA Participates in Second Stakeholder Meeting to Discuss Antimicrobial Resistance
• CVMA Letter to Minister of Health Asks for Position on Antimicrobial Resistance
• CVMA participates in discussion to promote prudent use of medically-important antimicrobial drugs in food animal production
• CVMA participates in ministerial roundtable on antimicrobial resistance
• CVMA supports Health Canada’s move to propose new measures to address antimicrobial resistance
• CVMA had created position statements on the following, which were rescinded at the beginning of 2018 in lieu of Health Canada's upcoming regulatory and policy changes. Learn more here:
  • Importation of Veterinary Products
  • Antimicrobial Use in Animals
  • Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) for Veterinary Use
• CVMA released a smart phone app, Antimicrobial SmartVet, to assist veterinarians with the prudent use of antimicrobials when treating urinary tract infections (UTIs) in companion animals. In 2008, CVMA developed Antimicrobial Prudent Use Guidelines for Beef Cattle, Dairy Cattle, Poultry and Swine. Both have been replaced with the 2018 CVMA Guidelines for Veterinary Antimicrobial Use.
• CVMA collaborated with the Canadian Animal Health Institute (CAHI) to develop a poster that promotes the importance of applying the “Decision Cascade” when veterinarians prescribe medications. It provides general guidance and important points for veterinarians to consider when prescribing compounded products, which are based on CVMA’s Guidelines for the Legitimate Use of Compounded Drugs in Veterinary Practice. 
• CVMA formed a Veterinary Pharmaceutical Stewardship Advisory Group in 2014 to focus in depth on specific pharmaceutical issues, which include discussions on antimicrobial stewardship. 
• CVMA hosted a Summit on Antimicrobial Stewardship during the 2014 CVMA Convention where the issue of antimicrobial resistance was closely examined by Canadian and international speakers from the veterinary and human health professions.