Centre releases standard veterinary treatment guidelines for livestock and poultry

Centre releases standard veterinary treatment guidelines for livestock and poultry

Sub :Sci

Sec: Health

Context:

• The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD), Government of India, launched the Standard Veterinary Treatment Guidelines (SVTGs) for livestock and poultry.
• Developed in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and supported by USAID, these guidelines aim to standardize veterinary treatment across India, ensuring improved animal health and responsible drug use.

Key Details of SVTGs:

• Purpose: To guide veterinarians, animal health professionals, and paraprofessionals in delivering standardized, rational treatment for various animal diseases.
• Available as a compact digital manual for easy access on mobile devices.
• A “Live” document updated every 2-3 years based on field feedback and advancements in veterinary practices.

Content Structure:

• Animal Types Covered: Guidelines cover diseases in cattle, buffaloes, goats, sheep, poultry, pigs, camels, equines, mithuns, and yaks.
• Disease Categories: Includes infectious, non-infectious, and parasitic diseases, with specific chapters on each.
  • Details Provided: Etiology, clinical signs, diagnosis, treatment, preventive measures, and dosage/duration for various drugs, including antimicrobial and ethnoveterinary medicine.

Focus on Poultry Health:

• Diseases Covered:
  • Viral: New Castle Disease, Avian Influenza, Marek’s Disease, Fowl-pox, and more.
  • Bacterial: Avian Mycoplasmosis, E. coli infections, Salmonella, Infectious Coryza, Fowl Cholera.
  • Parasitic: Coccidiosis.
• Biosecurity & Vaccination: Emphasis on biosecurity practices to control pathogen spread, with detailed vaccination schedules for various poultry types (commercial layers, broilers, backyard poultry).

Goals and Impact:

• Curbing Irrational Treatment: Standardizes treatment practices to reduce misuse of veterinary drugs.
• Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR): By regulating antibiotic use and focusing on preventive measures (e.g., vaccination, biosecurity), the SVTGs contribute to the fight against AMR—a growing threat to both animal and human health.
• Policy Guidance: Provides policymakers with a framework to assess the quality of veterinary medicines and animal health services, helping to inform budgetary decisions.

Antibiotic Resistance:

Medicines that are used to prevent and treat bacterial infections are called Antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change in response to the use of these medicines. When we say antibiotic resistance, it means bacteria are resistant to antibiotics and not humans.

Antimicrobial Resistance:

It is a broader term, encompassing resistance to drugs to treat infections caused by other microbes as well, such as parasites, viruses, and fungi.

Antimicrobial resistance is the resistance acquired by any microorganism (bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasite, etc.) against antimicrobial drugs (such as antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals, antimalarials, and anthelmintics) that are used to treat infections.

As a result, standard treatments become ineffective, infections persist and may spread to others.

Microorganisms that develop antimicrobial resistance are sometimes referred to as “superbugs”.

Reasons for Spread of Antimicrobial Resistance:

The misuse of antimicrobials in medicine and inappropriate use in agriculture.

Contamination around pharmaceutical manufacturing sites where untreated waste releases large amounts of active antimicrobials into the environment.