Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Animal Biosciences & Biotechnology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #293224
Title: Alternatives to Antibiotics: Recent Scientific Development

Author
item GAY, CYRIL - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA)
item SEAL, BRUCE - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA)
item LILLEHOJ, HYUN - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA)
item Donovan, David

Submitted to: Proceedings of the OIE Global Conference on the Responsible and Prudent Use of Antimicrobial Agents for Animals
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/6/2014
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Antibiotics are one of the most important medical discoveries of the 20th century and remain an essential tool for treating animal and human diseases. However, antibiotic resistance among bacterial pathogens and concerns over their extensive use in animals has garnered global interest in limiting their use in animal agriculture. There is therefore a critical need to explore the scientific breakthroughs and novel technologies that provide alternatives to antibiotics. The International Symposium on Alternatives to Antibiotics for Animal Production was organized by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in collaboration with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) to assess promising research results and novel technologies that could potentially provide alternatives to antibiotics with a focus on animal agriculture. Although some of these new technologies have direct applications as medical interventions for human health, the focus of the symposium was animal production, animal health and food safety. Five subject areas were explored in detail through scientific presentations and expert panel discussions: 1) Alternatives to antibiotics, lessons from nature; 2) Immune modulation approaches to enhance disease resistance and treat animal diseases; 3) The gut microbiome and immune development, health and diseases; 4) Alternatives to antibiotics for animal production; and 5) Regulatory pathways to enable the licensure of alternatives to antibiotics. This short paper reviews a few of the promising technologies from the 110 scientific presentations included in the symposium. Importantly, conclusions and future direction for advancing this field of research are summarized. Problem—With the increasing frequency of antimicrobial resistant strains emerging in both human and animal health care, there is a growing need for alternatives to antibiotics. Accomplishment-- This short manuscript summarizes the findings of the 2012 international symposium on alternatives to antibiotics held in Paris France. This paper was recently presented in March 2013 at the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) Global Conference on the Responsible and Prudent Use of Antimicrobial Agents for Animals, Paris France. Contribution of Accomplishment to Solving the Problem-- The field of novel alternatives to antibiotics encompasses a diverse range of topics from true antimicrobial agents to immune modulation approaches. As one of the first meetings directed at this topic, it is an important first step to bring together the top scientists in the field to share their various approaches and initiate discussions that will eventually establish standards across a wide range of approaches to achieve pathogen control. A summary of that meeting in published format provides this information to an even wider audience.