Veterinary Diagnostic Practice and the Use of Rapid Tests in Antimicrobial Stewardship on UK Livestock Farms
dc.contributor.author | Buller, H | |
dc.contributor.author | Adam, K | |
dc.contributor.author | Bard, A | |
dc.contributor.author | Bruce, A | |
dc.contributor.author | Chan, KW | |
dc.contributor.author | Hinchliffe, S | |
dc.contributor.author | Morgans, L | |
dc.contributor.author | Rees, G | |
dc.contributor.author | Reyher, KK | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2020-10-15T09:42:16Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2020-10-15 | |
dc.description.abstract | In this paper we consider the shifting role, practice and context of veterinary diagnosis in addressing concerns over what is, in the context of the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance, considered unnecessary or excessive antimicrobial medicine use in UK livestock farms. With increasing policy and regulatory interest in diagnostic practices and technologies, coupled with an expanding focus on the development and deployment of new rapid and point-of-care on-farm diagnostic testing, this paper investigates current diagnostic practices amongst veterinarians working on dairy, pig and poultry farms in Great Britain (England, Wales, and Scotland) and, more specifically, veterinarians' use and perceptions of new and emerging rapid and point-of-care diagnostic tests. Drawing on a series of 30 semi-structured interviews with farm animal veterinary professionals across the three sectors, this paper examines the manner in which such tests are both used and anticipated in clinical farm animal veterinary practice and the possible impact rapid test technologies might have on broader farm animal health management and disease control. Analysis of the transcribed interviews reveals a number of complexities around the use of rapid and point-of-care diagnostic tests. The relative rapidity and simplification of such tests, facilitating immediate treatment responses, is held in balance against both the accuracy and the more detailed and documented procedures of established laboratory testing routes. In situations of multifaceted on-farm etiologies, respondents maintained that rapid tests may offer restricted diagnostic capabilities, though in other situations they were found to offer ready confirmation of disease presence. A third complexity arising from the growth of rapid and point-of-care testing and revealed in this study relates to the shifting distribution of responsibilities in animal health care within contemporary food chains. The growing availability of rapid and point-of-care tests effectively diversifies the range of diagnostic actors with consequences for the flow of diagnostic and disease information. The veterinarians in this study identified areas where new rapid and point-of-care tests would be of particular value to them in their clinical practice particularly in addressing concerns over inappropriate antimicrobial use in animal treatment. However, despite the considerable policy advocacy on rapid and point-of-care tests as key tools in shifting diagnostic practice and reducing unnecessary antimicrobial use, veterinarians in this study, while recognizing the potential future role of such tools and technologies, nonetheless viewed diagnostic practice as a far more complex process for which rapid tests might constitute only a part. | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) | en_GB |
dc.identifier.citation | Vol. 7, article 569545 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.3389/fvets.2020.569545 | |
dc.identifier.grantnumber | ES/P008194/1 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10871/123248 | |
dc.language.iso | en | en_GB |
dc.publisher | Frontiers Media | en_GB |
dc.relation.url | https://www.dialamr.com | en_GB |
dc.rights | © 2020 Buller, Adam, Bard, Bruce, (Ray) Chan, Hinchliffe, Morgans, Rees and Reyher. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. | en_GB |
dc.subject | antimicrobial use | en_GB |
dc.subject | livestock farms | en_GB |
dc.subject | veterinarians | en_GB |
dc.subject | rapid diagnostic tests | en_GB |
dc.subject | diagnostic practice | en_GB |
dc.title | Veterinary Diagnostic Practice and the Use of Rapid Tests in Antimicrobial Stewardship on UK Livestock Farms | en_GB |
dc.type | Article | en_GB |
dc.date.available | 2020-10-15T09:42:16Z | |
dc.description | This is the final version. Available on open access from Frontiers Media via the DOI in this record | en_GB |
dc.description | Data Availability Statement: The datasets generated for this article are not readily available because the data set will be deposited in UKRI depository at termination of contracted research. Requests to access the datasets should be directed to https://www.dialamr.com | en_GB |
dc.identifier.eissn | 2297-1769 | |
dc.identifier.journal | Frontiers in Veterinary Science | en_GB |
dc.rights.uri | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | en_GB |
dcterms.dateAccepted | 2020-09-08 | |
exeter.funder | ::Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) | en_GB |
rioxxterms.version | VoR | en_GB |
rioxxterms.licenseref.startdate | 2020-10-15 | |
rioxxterms.type | Journal Article/Review | en_GB |
refterms.dateFCD | 2020-10-15T09:39:36Z | |
refterms.versionFCD | VoR | |
refterms.dateFOA | 2020-10-15T09:42:23Z | |
refterms.panel | C | en_GB |
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's licence is described as © 2020 Buller, Adam, Bard, Bruce, (Ray) Chan, Hinchliffe, Morgans, Rees and Reyher. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.