The National Office of Animal Health (NOAH) has issued a briefing document for veterinary surgeons to help clarify which antibiotic classes should be considered as critically important antibiotics – those classified as such by scientific assessment by the European Medicines Agency.

The responsible use of antibiotics termed critically important is an important strand in the UK policy to fight antibiotic resistance development.

However, NOAH says there is much confusion about which antibiotics should be considered within this group, with different organisations referring to different classes.

Donal Murphy, Head of Technical and Regulatory Affairs at NOAH said: "NOAH believes the classification and use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine should be driven and guided by the regulators, who are independent and make science based decisions and recommendations.

"Of course, all classes of antibiotics, whether critically important or not, should be used responsibly and guided by the principle outlined by the Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture Alliance (RUMA) who state they should be used  'as little as possible but as much as necessary'. The use of these important products in this manner can ensure that the availability and efficacy of antibiotics can be maintained to ensure animal health and welfare in the future."

You can download the briefing document here.

PS: Whilst you're here, take a moment to see our latest job opportunities for vets.