The "Judicious and Prudent Antimicrobial Drug Use Principles for Food Fish Veterinarians" is the latest guideline produced by the AVMA Steering Committee on Antimicrobial Resistance and approved by the Executive Board. Judicious use guidelines have previously been approved for cattle, cats, poultry, swine, horses, and dogs.

The board approved payment of travel expenses for Dr. Paul Morley to attend the steering committee's meeting in March to present preliminary results of the Colorado State University Antimicrobial Drug Use Survey. Dr. Morley is a member of the CSU Antimicrobial Research Group, which has been conducting and analyzing a survey of veterinarians' attitudes and opinions about antimicrobial use. The AVMA provided complimentary mailing labels for use in the survey.

The board also approved a more detailed position statement on the use of antimicrobials in livestock feeds. The new statement notes that the AVMA definition of therapeutic use includes uses to prevent and control as well as to treat; recognizes the Food and Drug Administration as the appropriate regulatory agency; supports the protection of public health, but also the consideration of animal health; and emphasizes that bans of an entire class of use, for growth promotion or prevention, is not justified by scientific evidence.

The statement urges veterinarians to implement judicious use principles and assist producers to evaluate and reduce their use of antimicrobials as appropriate.