New rules for livestock producers, vets and feed suppliers

Nevada Daily Mail

The letters VFD have grabbed the attention of area veterinarians, livestock producers and feed suppliers in recent months. Starting Jan. 1, any medically important antibiotic used for livestock will require a veterinary feed directive. While technically not a prescription, it does mean that producers will have to go through their vet in order to obtain an antibiotic.

"The whole purpose is to encourage a more careful use of antibiotics," said veterinarian Rex Byergo.

The federal Food and Drug Administration oversees both prescription drugs and VFD drugs. The distinction comes at the state level. Prescription drugs fall under state pharmacy rules; VFDs do not.

Everett Forkner, local pork producer and former president of the National Pork Board put it this way. "It's easy to shout 'government meddling' or 'needless regulation.' But every livestock producer -- beef, pork or poultry -- must face this fact. Among consumers -- and I'm not talking about fanatics -- but among U.S. consumers in general, there is a growing concern about how their food is raised and handled. By observing the new standards we maintain the trust of our end market, those who buy and consume what we produce."

Veterinarian Brad Copeland said, "This directive promotes better livestock management. In order to get a VFD, the producer must demonstrate to the vet not only a knowledge about animal disease and the use of antibiotics but just as important, an ability to use the many effective prevention and control techniques that do not rely on medications."

"Among pork producers, we call these bio-security measures," said Forkner. Parking is far from the animals, workers limit animal contact and they shower before and after animal contact. This came about, not due to a government directive but stems from the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus scare from a few years ago when so many herds had to be put down."

The actual veterinary feed directive is good for a period of up to six-months and will be issued in triplicate. One copy will be retained by the issuing veterinarian, with the other two given to the producer. The producer is to keep one on file and give the other copy to the medication supplier.

In issuing this directive, the Food and Drug Administration announced it has obtained voluntary cooperation from the feed industry to desist from selling feed that contains antibiotics.

Copeland said, "While producers most certainly will be affected, the single biggest change will come as suppliers will no longer be permitted to sell feed containing antibiotics and farms big and small will be banned from adding them to water."

"Now be clear about this," said veterinarian Erik Andersen, "the VFD only affects feed grade antibiotics. Injectable antibiotics do not fall under VFD regulations."

Under FDA Guidance 213, antibiotics are divided into two classes, medically and non-medically important. Medically important refers to antibiotics used in both human and animal medicine as well as those that are used in feed; these now require a VFD. Included are penicillins, cephalosporins, quinolones, fluroquinolones, tetracyclines, macrolides, sulfas, and glycopeptides.

Nonmedically important antibiotics are those used exclusively in animals such as ionophores, polypeptides, carbadox, bambermycin, pleuromutlin. This class of drugs does not require a VFD.

And what happens if the desired medication is a combination of a medically and nonmedically important drug? "Then," says Copeland, "because one drug does require a VFD, the producer has to have a VFD on file for that drug. The vet is required to note on the VFD the drugs being given in combination."

"Producers need to understand that when it comes to use of aueromycin and chlorotetracycline for respiratory conditions, foot rot, pink eye and anaplasmosis, producers will not need a VFD," said Andersen. "These will still be available for use in mineral, as will Bovatec, Rumensin and Decoxx for control of coccidiosis."

Another area addressed by FDA Guidance 213 has to do with so-called off-label use. If a medication has not received FDA authorization for treatment of a disease or condition, the veterinarian cannot write a legal VFD. The medication supplier, usually a feed store, is banned from legal sales of such drugs while producers are not to use medications for what are referred to off-label uses.

"If the label says it's for treatment of a respiratory disease that's what it has to be used for," said Byergo, "and it has to be used at the level and duration that is on the label."

"Not all that long ago, if a person saw the doctor and had even a sniffle," said Andersen, "the patient got a shot of penicillin. But with the rise of drug resistant bacteria, doctors have cut such use. Now that movement is coming to the world of livestock."

Accusations have been made that antibiotics used in animals are the cause of major human drug resistant diseases such as vancomycin resistant enterococcus, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and multiple drug resistant salmonella.

Vancomycin or drugs in its class have never been approved for use in food producing animals. The Centers for Disease Control determined that MRSA is not a foodborne infection and cannot be acquired by eating meat.

While salmonella is among the most common form of food-transmitted illnesses, in the vast majority of cases, proper handling, storage and cooking prevents most problems. In the treatment of salmonella infections, antibiotics are generally not recommended except in severe cases in high-risk patients or in bloodstream infections. Multiple drug resistant salmonella is destroyed by proper cooking.

"Another thing that consumers don't always realize," said Byergo, "is that livestock producers are required to have their animals off all antibiotics well before sale. The amount of time depends on the drug used."

"Among pork producers, very few use any form of penicillin," said Forkner. "Years ago, the waiting period between last use and market was 10-12 days but now its 52-60 days."

"Another factor that consumers may not realize is that even though the cost of meat has gone up in stores, producers are seeing little of it and profit margins are getting squeezed hard in the livestock industry," said Copeland. "For some time now, because antibiotics are getting expensive, far fewer producers have been using them as a preventive measure."

With VFDs coming in January, that practice will largely be gone. The desired outcome is for antibiotics to be used among livestock, as they should be among human beings, to fight actual infections.

FDA rules require a veterinarian to be licensed in the state where the animals reside and have a working veterinarian-client-patient-relationship with the producer. The VCPR means the veterinarian has visited the producer's operation, examined the animals and believes the producer knows how to diagnose and administer antibiotics as well as use a range of good animal/herd management techniques.

Area producers who do not have a good working relationship with their veterinarian need to establish one soon because Jan.1, is not too far away.

"But understand this," said Byergo, "in human beings and in animals, antibiotics can be misused or they can be a powerful and life saving tool."

Added Copeland, "For M.D.s, D.O.s and D.V.M.s judicious use of antibiotics is what we all want and need and that's what this FDA directive is really all about."