The Canadian government has announced changes to the rules on veterinary drugs it says will help to limit antimicrobial resistance. The widespread use of drugs world-wide has caused some bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites to become resistant to them.
More people dying
When drugs are no longer effective it is difficult to prevent and treat infections and that can make medical procedures like organ transplants, chemotherapy, diabetes and surgery very risky. There is an increasing number of drugs that are no longer effective to treat infections and more people are dying from drug-resistant infections.
Certain veterinary drugs to be restricted
Canada’s department of health has announced it will restrict the personal importation of certain veterinary drugs for food-producing animals. It will set stricter guidelines for companies to ensure the quality of their active pharmaceutical ingredients.
It will require reporting of the annual sales of medically important antimicrobial drugs so it can better monitor them. And it will make it easier to import simpler low-risk veterinary products including those that can be used as alternatives to antimicrobials drugs.
Health Canada says about 80 per cent of medically important antimicrobials sold in Canada are used in livestock.
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