Antimicrobial resistance: Russia is no more standing aside

The State Duma adopted in the first reading the law on the norms of the use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine

In the first reading, the State Duma adopted a bill on the use of antibiotics in animal husbandry, according to which the use of antibiotics will be monitored through the Federal State Information Veterinary System.

Submission to the State Duma took place in August this year with the initiative of the Government. The set of changes was developed by the Federal Service of Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor). Amendments will be made to the law "On Veterinary Medicine" and "On the Circulation of Medicines".

Also, in accordance with the new amendments, it will be possible to obtain medicines by prescription only. The recipe, in turn, must be drawn up through the Federal State Information Veterinary System.

It will be prohibited to add antibiotics to feed without a proper prescription. There is also a proposal to define the category of persons who will be licensed to add antibiotics to feed in production.

The document, upon successful approval, will enter into force on September 1, 2022.

System for tracking the use of antibacterial agents in the agro-industrial complex

Russia is quite late with the adoption of the aforementioned bill due to a number of circumstances, primarily due to the fact that Rosselkhoznadzor didn’t get enough support with the identification of animals. On the basis of the animal identification and registration system, it is possible to build a complete system for tracking the use of antibacterial agents in the agro-industrial complex. From the identification of animals, the traceability of veterinary medicinal products, information about which is in the electronic system, goes further: the issuance of certificates, electronic directions for use. And if there is no unique identification number of the animal, then it is impossible to trace how all this was used.

The introduction of such a system will be one of the tools to combat antibiotic resistance.

The system of traceability of the use of antibiotics in the treatment of farm animals is being proposed to be developed within the framework of the overall task of digitalization within the information systems of the Rosselkhoznadzor.

At the moment such drugs are available by prescription. After the introduction of the traceability system, the authority will have the opportunity to control the release of antibacterial drugs, keep records of their use, as well as monitor their excretion from the animal's body. So far, there are a lot of complaints about the residues of antibacterial drugs in products of animal origin.

The system of animal identification that is being proposed must be legally formalized. In the autumn session of the State Duma, amendments to the law "On Veterinary Medicine" will be considered and hopefully, it will be accepted.

Launch of the AMRcloud online platform 

All-Russian State Center for Quality and Standardization of Medicines for Animals and Feed (FSBI "VGNKI") and the Research Institute of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (Smolensk) within the framework of the One Health approach have created a unique online platform AMRcloud, on the basis of which it is possible to visualize and process information about antibiotic resistance.

In addition, a national collection of antibiotic-resistant strains of microorganisms has been created on the basis of the VGNKI and is being maintained. A set of methods has been developed to determine practically all the main groups of antimicrobial drugs used in veterinary medicine.

The AMR cloud system is simple and easy to use, has various filters, data output functions in the form of graphs, tables, geographical maps. By making a few clicks, the user will be able to easily make a sample of interest and analyze the data, including a sample for individual species of animals or drugs, both medical and veterinary. It is possible to assess the situation both in a separate region and in Russia on a national level.

The project has an English version and is constantly updated.

Multilateral framework

Jean Perche, representative of the regional office of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) in Moscow, announced that on November 18, 2021 the OIE together with the VGNKI within the framework of the World Antimicrobial Awareness Week 2021 will hold an international conference on antibacterial resistance. Experts from Russia, France, Great Britain and other countries will take part in it. For more information about the conference, please, contact VGNKI, the hosting party, via: e.gorchitsa@vgnki.ru

Sources: DairyNews.ru, sfera.fm, Interfax, OIE

LAN-Moscow