The public symposium will provide a broad view of antibiotic use in food animals from a variety of presenters in the private and public sectors. Leonard Bull, chairman of the symposium planning committee said the symposium will focus on four key areas, including:
- The use of antibiotics in food animal production;
- Human health implications relative to antibiotic use;
- Understanding and communicating the risks associated with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in livestock;
- Identifying additional research needs regarding how and to what extent antimicrobial resistance develops in humans and animals.
“Symposium presenters are going to take an in-depth, science-based look at the benefits of antibiotics to animals and to humans and zero in specifically on when antibiotics need to be used, what we all currently know and don’t know and what each of us needs to know,” Dr. Bull said. “I want to stress that the symposium will be a dialogue, not a debate.”
A full list of presenters, panellists and topics, along with registration information, can be found on the NIAA website.
