Conference Reports
Towards Sustainable Antibiotic Use in Aquaculture and Antimicrobial Resistance: Participatory Experts’ Overview and Recommendations
Antibiotics 2024, 13(9), 887; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics13090887
Notably, 56 worldwide experts gathered for the Antimicrobial Assessment on Global Aquaculture Production (AGAP) series of workshops to (1) evaluate the current state of knowledge on antimicrobial use and identify existing gaps; (2) formulate strategies to identify ecologically relevant impact indicators and establish thresholds for assessment; (3) identify pivotal socioeconomic factors and effective governance mechanisms essential for implementing monitoring practices in aquaculture and extending them across sectors and countries for aquaculture sustainability; (4) develop pathways to enhance our comprehension between antibiotic use in aquaculture and antimicrobial resistance; and (5) explore potential antibiotic monitoring tools that can be universally adapted and implemented across region and sectors. The main outcomes were a roadmap for establishing investigation priorities on the relevant topics regarding antibiotic use in aquaculture, socioeconomic drivers for using antibiotics and behaviors that need more robust and transparent regulatory frameworks to guide farmers, training on antimicrobial use, and access to veterinarians and extension services agents for education. Overall, the workshop evidenced the power of collaboration in addressing complex global challenges to achieve sustainable aquaculture. Despite diligent efforts, some constraints may have inadvertently narrowed the possibility of having more experts and left some pertinent topics unaddressed, but they are needed in the discussion.
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Alternatives to Antibiotics: A Symposium on the Challenges and Solutions for Animal Health and Production
Antibiotics 2021, 10(5), 471; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics10050471
Antibiotics have improved the length and quality of life of people worldwide and have had an immeasurable influence on agricultural animal health and the efficiency of animal production over the last 60 years. The increased affordability of animal protein for a greater proportion of the global population, in which antibiotic use has played a crucial part, has resulted in a substantial improvement in human quality of life. However, these benefits have come with major unintended consequences, including antibiotic resistance. Despite the inherent benefits of restricting antibiotic use in animal production, antibiotics remain essential to ensuring animal health, necessitating the development of novel approaches to replace the prophylactic and growth-promoting benefits of antibiotics. The third International Symposium on “Alternatives to Antibiotics: Challenges and Solutions in Animal Health and Production” in Bangkok, Thailand was organized by the USDA Agricultural Research Service, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University and Department of Livestock Development-Thailand Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative; supported by OIE World Organization for Animal Health; and attended by more than 500 scientists from academia, industry, and government from 32 nations across 6 continents. The focus of the symposium was on ensuring human and animal health, food safety, and improving food animal production efficiency as well as quality. Attendees explored six subject areas in detail through scientific presentations and panel discussions with experts, and the major conclusions were as follows: (1) defining the mechanisms of action of antibiotic alternatives is paramount to enable their effective use, whether they are used for prevention, treatment, or to enhance health and production; (2) there is a need to integrate nutrition, health, and disease research, and host genetics needs to be considered in this regard; (3) a combination of alternatives to antibiotics may need to be considered to achieve optimum health and disease management in different animal production systems; (4) hypothesis-driven field trials with proper controls are needed to validate the safety, efficacy, and return of investment (ROI) of antibiotic alternatives.
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International Conference “Urogenital Infections and Tuberculosis” in Novosibirsk, Russia, Has Opened New Perspectives in the Fight against Tuberculosis
Antibiotics 2014, 3(2), 121-127; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics3020121
The first International Conference “Urogenital Infections and Tuberculosis” was held in Novosibirsk 24–26 October 2013. Three hundred and twelve delegates from 73 cities in 16 countries took part in the conference. Actual problems of urogenital tract infection (UTI) including tuberculosis (TB) as a specific infection were discussed, including: nosocomial infections in urology, various aspects of prostate biopsy, epidemiology and diagnosis of urogenital tuberculosis, gender and age related characteristics of urinary tract infections, and male infertility, etc.
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