At the 2015 National Institute of Animal Agriculture’s (NIAA) Antibiotic Symposium, funded in part by the beef checkoff, experts and other stakeholders gathered to continue the conversation. The theme of the event, Antibiotic Stewardship: From Metrics to Management, highlighted a complex, global problem that has resulted from the actions of the within all of the diverse areas of human and veterinary healthcare.

The symposium addressed the issue of how to determine the success of current and planned efforts to improve antibiotic use in animal and human health. As at the preceding symposia, the 2015 conference combined information delivered during plenary sessions with facilitated discussions in breakout groups, each of which had defined tasks for developing output.

“Antibiotics have been critical in human and veterinary medicine since the 1940’s and antibiotic resistance has been a challenge almost as long,” said Dr. Robert Tauxe, Deputy Director of the Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “Thus, with the ever changing antibiotic landscape, research, education and constantly improving stewardship is imperative.”

The 2015 Antibiotic Symposium White Paper is now available, and may be accessed here