February 01, 2021

Global group to lead antimicrobial resistance advocacy

An international group of governmental, academic, and corporate leaders plans to encourage national and regional governments to set rules on how antimicrobial drugs are used.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), and World Health Organization created the One Health Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance, which is intended to increase attention to the risk of antimicrobial resistance and provide unified action toward preserving the effectiveness of antimicrobial drugs. An announcement from the WHO states that antimicrobial resistance is one of the world’s greatest health challenges, and it is increasing mainly through misuse and overuse of antimicrobials in humans, animals, and agriculture.

Two prime ministers lead the group: Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh and Mia Amor Mottley of Barbados. The rest of the group comprises 19 regular members, three alternate members, and three representatives for the FAO, OIE, and WHO tripartite.

AVMA offers resources for Pet Dental Health Month 2021

The AVMA has developed a variety of resources for National Pet Dental Health Month in February that also are available year-round to promote dental health in cats and dogs.

For pet owners, resources at avma.org/petdental include an overview of pet dental health, including information about the use of anesthesia during veterinary dentistry, videos on periodontal disease and toothbrushing, and a quiz on pet dental health.

Also available is a link to a veterinary toolkit on pet dental health, available only to AVMA members. The toolkit starts with clinic materials such as a flyer, handout, and brochure. Publicity and marketing resources are under the headings of stress-free ways to celebrate National Pet Dental Health Month as well as promotion and marketing ideas, publicity tools, and talking points for media interviews.

The veterinary toolkit also offers posts and images to share on social media, plus content from Partners for Healthy Pets for Facebook, Twitter, and websites.

Zoetis publishes sustainability report

Zoetis recently released its 2019 Environmental, Social, and Governance Review (PDF), which provides information on energy, waste, and workforce metrics. The company says it’s the first in the animal health industry to provide a stand-alone disclosure of key performance indicators based on work by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board and Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, which offer widely used global sustainability frameworks.

“As a company focused on the health of animals, sustainability has always been integral to our work; however, this year we formalized our strategy and elevated sustainability to one of our top priorities,” said Kristin Peck, CEO of Zoetis, in a press release.

Among the disclosures, the company says to create an inclusive, safe, and engaged workplace, it aspires by 2025 to increase representation of women at the director level and above from 32% to 40%. In the area of environmental sustainability, Zoetis has increased its recycling rate of hazardous waste by 35% and solid waste by 14% since 2017. And concerning veterinary and community support, the company donated over $500,000 worth in products to help local veterinarians care for animals affected by natural disasters in 2019, including floods and hurricanes.

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