The significance of rational use of drugs in veterinary medicine for food safety*

Abstract

Rational use of drugs in veterinary medicine has manifold significance. By using each drug, only when it is really necessary (indicated), in right dose and route of administration, the potential damage of their use is reduced, efficiency increased, and the risk of microorganisms resistance development (in case of antimicrobials) significantly decreased. All of this becomes more important when these drugs are used in food producing animals. Simultaneously with the intensifying of cattle breeding and exceptional increase of animal productivity, the number of used drugs is unavoidably increased. There are almost no animals today in intensive as well as in extensive production/rearing system, which haven’t received at least one drug during their life. In poultry, cattle and pig production, which are main sectors for production of food stuffs of animal origin, the use of drugs has increased and reached the limits which are considered alarming for health of people. On the first place are antibiotics, or antimicrobial drugs, which are used very often in therapy or prevention of bacteria diseases, and also, very often, as growth stimulator. In addition to antibiotics, many other drugs are used, with proven numerous
harmful effects, even with carcinogenic and teratogenic features, whose residues in food intended for human consumption can very seriously endanger the health of people, as potential consumers of this kind of food. Therefore, the control of use of antimicrobial, and other drugs in livestock production is exceptionally significant.