Changes in federal regulations relating to antibiotic use in livestock began Jan. 1, but there are still many producers who are unaware of what they can and cannot purchase without a Veterinary Feed Directive from their veterinarian.
The regulation changes limited the use of medications as a feed or water-additive that are deemed medically important antimicrobials – including penicillins, tetracyclines, macrolides, lincosamides, streptogrammins, aminoglycosides and sulfonamides.
“Feed grade antibiotics that are important for human medicine are the drugs that will now require a VFD order (if in feed) or a prescription (if in water). The FDA is targeting oral antibiotics used in animal agriculture for two reasons: to reduce the occurrence of antibiotic resistant bacteria in the animal (which can infect humans as a food-borne illness) and to reduce the occurrence of antibiotic resistant bacteria in the environment, which happens when antibiotic is excreted by the animals in urine and/or feces,” said Dr. Heidi Ward, assistant professor and veterinarian with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.
Perhaps one of the biggest misconceptions about the regulation change is that injectable antibiotics are no longer available over-the-counter.
“Injectable antibiotics that have been over-the-counter will remain OTC and injectable antibiotics that were previously prescription will remain prescription,” Ward said. “However, injectable antibiotics are regulated by state pharmacy boards. California is the only state that has decided to make all medically important injectable antibiotics prescription starting in 2018. “
Some retailers are no longer offering antibiotics of any type. Ward said some stores have opted to no longer carry the products, but they have not been forced to discontinue sales.
“The retailer has the decision whether or not to sell medicated feed or prescription feed grade antibiotics,” she explained. “In order to sell these items, the retailer must write a letter of intent to distribute medicated feed to the FDA. They must also retain copies of the VFD orders for two years.”
Producers who did not have a relationship with a veterinarian prior to Jan. 1 are now required to obtain a Veterinarian-Client-Patient Relationship, or VCPR, in order to obtain feed additives and water-soluble antimicrobials.
“To obtain a working VCPR, the producer must either have a veterinarian come to their farm for a consultation or bring representative animals (not all of them) to the veterinarian for an examination,” Ward explained. “There must be documentation in the veterinarian’s record of one of these events in the past year in order to write a prescription or a VFD order. The veterinarian must provide justification for the use of the antibiotic in their records and keep the original VFD order for three years to be compliant with the Arkansas law. Only a licensed Arkansas veterinarian can write a VFD order for Arkansas animals. Producers who have established relationships with a veterinarian from another state must ensure that the veterinarian obtains an Arkansas veterinary license if they are to write a VFD order for them.”
The requirement of a prescription of certain medications, however, is not a new concept.
Drugs like Baytril, Draxxin and Nuflor required a VCPR prior to Jan. 1. The drugs remain perscription only.
