The Nigeria Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA) has called on practitioners, farmers, and the Nigerian public to shun the indiscriminate use of antibiotic drugs in animals and humans to prevent antimicrobial resistance as the next epidemic waiting to strike.
The President of NVMA, Dr. Oluwatoyin Adetunberu, sounded this warning at the Annual Leaders’ Summit, organized by the association in Abuja, describing antimicrobial resistance as a global threat that has the potential to undermine the effectiveness of modern medicine and pose a serious threat to public health.
Antimicrobial resistance happens when antibiotics become less effective against different strains of bacteria, making it one of the world’s most urgent public health problems with the potential to affect people at any stage of life, as well as the healthcare, veterinary, and agriculture industries.
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Adetunberu explained that misuse of antimicrobial drugs either to treat diseases in humans and animals or as feed additives or growth boosters for livestock is capable of making the microbes develop resistance to drugs, adding that if the practice is not curbed, the animal diseases may begin to enter humans, which may be dangerous for the human population.
According to her, if actions are not taken on time, antimicrobial resistance can lead to 10 million global deaths annually by 2050, and the deaths will lead to a loss of $100 million to the global economy.
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“One of the key solutions to this problem is to promote the responsible use of antibiotics in animals. This includes reducing the use of antibiotics for growth promotion and only using them when necessary for the treatment of sick animals.
“There is a need for everyone to take charge such that when prescriptions are not given, they should not be used; if the one prescribed by the doctors finishes, don’t go to the pharmacy to get another. If you feel unwell, go back to the physician for a recommendation.”
