Page 13 - Eclipse - RVC Alumni Magazine - Autumn 2020

RVC and LSHTM joint study evaluating Government’s antimicrobial resistance strategy
The RVC, together with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine’s (LSHTM) Policy Innovation and Evaluation Research Unit, has published an evaluation study on the Government’s antimicrobial resistance (AMR) Strategy from 2013-2018.
The Government’s Strategy aims to slow the development of AMR, which allows microorganisms to survive and thrive
in the presence of antimicrobial drugs, increasing the proliferation of infection and disease in both humans and animals.
This study assessed the implementation of the strategy in human and animal health across the UK, and with the interim findings provided to the Department of Health and Social Care in 2018, contributed to the formal review and revision of the government’s AMR Strategy, with the aim of strengthening the implementation of future AMR policy.
The research evaluated the national and local implementation of the Strategy,
the use of data to effect change in behaviour, implementation of the Strategy and evidence of effectiveness in the food chain, challenges to innovation in the biopharma industry, progress
on international work outlined in the Strategy, and the role of patients and the public in implementation of the Strategy. Leading the animal health study, a group of researchers from the RVC, led by Professor Katharina Stärk, Dr Barbara Häsler, and Dr Ana Mateus, studied the effectiveness of prudent antimicrobial use policies in the animal sector, how
antimicrobial use and AMR are managed in the animal source food chain and conducted case studies for companion animals, pigs and poultry.
The study found that by adopting a One Health approach, the Strategy has instilled a shared sense of responsibility for tackling AMR across the human and animal health sectors. Key findings from the study include:
provide them with better opportunities to discuss prescribing antibiotics with pet owners
• The need for more data, over a longer period of time, to assess
the impact of the guidelines and voluntary efforts to reduce the use of antibiotics in animals
• The need for greater collaboration with regards to the surveillance of AMR and the data on the use of antibiotics across animals and humans, to allow for easier comparison in a One Health perspective
Dr Häsler, Senior Lecturer in Agrihealth at the RVC, said: “At the RVC, we are always looking to use our expertise to demonstrate the vital importance of understanding the close relationship between human and animal health.
We were delighted to support our colleagues at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in this evaluation. It was encouraging to see progress in the collection and sharing of better AMR data since the launch of the Strategy, particularly in England.
“There are certainly still challenges ahead, and the RVC looks forward to working with our colleagues across academia and government to identify the best way forward in the coming months and years, so that we can tackle the worrying possibility of widespread antimicrobial resistance head on.”
For more information about the study see
Evaluation of the implementation of the UK AMR Strategy at LSHTM PIRU: rvc.uk.com/amr-strategy
ONE HEALTH
• Identifying the different stages in which the livestock sector is improving the way it uses antibiotics and records data, with some private industry groups and professional bodies demonstrating strong leadership in implementing the Strategy
• The potential value in longer consultation times for vets, which will
The findings revealed highly variable turnover rates in tendon, with values ranging from a few days to several years, and significantly faster turnover of proteins in the interfascicular matrix. This key discovery challenges long-held beliefs that almost no protein turnover occurs in tendon and instead, provides the first step in understanding how altered protein turnover contributes to the development of tendon disease. Additionally, with alterations in protein turnover rates contributing to other musculoskeletal and connective tissue
diseases, this study will also help target future research into how these diseases can most effectively be treated.
Dr Thorpe commented: “Our results show that proteins within tendon are renewed much more rapidly than previously thought, with different rates of turnover in different regions of the tendon. These findings will help us to understand how the rate of protein renewal in tendon is affected by ageing or injury, and will allow future studies to identify potential targets for treatment
of tendon disease and other prominent diseases which are caused by alterations in protein turnover rates.”
The study was funded by the charity Versus Arthritis. The research article, ‘Heterogeneity of proteome dynamics between connective tissue phases of adult tendon’, is open access on eLife.
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