Descrizione del progetto
Sostituzioni di antibiotici negli alimenti per animali
Gli antimicrobici come gli antibiotici sono utilizzati per uccidere o inibire la crescita dei microrganismi nella medicina umana e veterinaria. Gli agricoltori, ad esempio, aggiungono antibiotici ai mangimi per animali, accelerandone la crescita e impedendo loro di ammalarsi. Tuttavia, l’uso eccessivo di antibiotici nell’agricoltura e nell’allevamento è una minaccia crescente per la salute umana. Il progetto AVANT, finanziato dall’UE, sta sviluppando alternative agli antimicrobici per la gestione delle infezioni batteriche nei suini, che includono un intervento di stabilizzazione intestinale basato su prodotti simbiotici e sul trapianto di microbiota fecale, prodotti additivi per mangimi e a strategie di alimentazione alternative per scrofe e suinetti. Saranno utilizzati strumenti di modellizzazione matematica con cui stimare la riduzione dell’uso di antimicrobici entro il 2030, qualora queste pratiche alternative vengano adottate dall’industria della produzione suina.
Obiettivo
Antimicrobial resistance in livestock is a public health threat due to the risk of zoonotic transmission to humans and its negative consequences on animal health and welfare when diseases cannot be treated. AVANT is a multi-actor inter-sectorial project aimed at developing alternatives to antimicrobials for the management of bacterial infections in pigs, especially diarrhoea during the weaning period, as the major indication for antimicrobial use in livestock in Europe. Antimicrobial treatment options for pigs are increasingly limited because of planned restrictions in the use of colistin and zinc, two current choices for treatment of post-weaning diarrhoea. The AVANT portfolio comprises a variety of alternatives for treatment or prevention of diarrhoea and/or respiratory infections, namely (i) gut-stabilizing interventions based on a symbiotic (pre- and probiotic) product and faecal microbiota transplantation; (ii) novel veterinary medicinal products containing bacteriophages and polymers for targeted treatment of enterotoxigenic E.coli infections; (iii) immuno-stimulating injectable and feed additive products, and (iv) alternative feeding strategies targeting sows and piglets. During pre-clinical studies, efficacy, toxicity, and mode of action of these interventions is tested, and their dosage and formulation optimized. The results and a survey for veterinarian-, farmer- and consumers perception of antimicrobial alternatives, will be used together with legal and economic considerations to select three interventions for large-scale farm trials, assessing clinical efficacy and impact on antimicrobial use. All steps are supported by regulatory advice for quick market entry post-project. Generated and existing data on antimicrobial use, pig demographics and projected consumption of pork, will be used in mathematical modelling to estimate the reduction in antimicrobial use that could be achieved by 2030 if the AVANT alternatives were widely adopted in pig production.
Campo scientifico
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencespublic healthepidemiologyepidemics prevention
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacypharmaceutical drugs
- agricultural sciencesanimal and dairy sciencedomestic animalsanimal husbandry
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencespublic healthepidemiologyzoonosis
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacydrug resistanceantibiotic resistance
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
IA - Innovation actionCoordinatore
1165 Kobenhavn
Danimarca