Tenth International Conference on Antimicrobial Agents in Veterinary Medicine (AAVM), to be held in Brussels, Belgium from November 23 to 25, 2020. This forthcoming conference follows the success of the past nine AAVM held in Helsinki, Ottawa, Orlando, Prague, Tel Aviv, Washington DC, Berlin, Budapest and Rome. This conference has emerged as one of the leading meetings in its field, which provides a very intensive program and encourages communication among the attendees.
The antimicrobial use is still a common practice in farm and companion animals, notwithstanding the efforts towards an overall reduction and the promotion of a responsible use. Antimicrobial use generally increases the risk of resistance formation and the interconnections of animal and human use may increase the risk for human health. Alternatives to these drugs are increasing, but still not routinely available. The veterinary medicine has to deal with the ever increasing requirements of reduction of antimicrobial use especially in farm animals, the lack of effective therapy alternatives and a more evidence based guidance in antimicrobial therapies. These aspects and many others, such as, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, PK/PD modelling, antimicrobial resistance, residues, analytical methods, clinical trials, environmental impact, etc. will stay in the forefront of the topics of the AAVM programs. A strong interaction will be encouraged to promote discussion and participation on these topics between the speakers and attendees.
Veterinary use of antimicrobials has raised worries for the potential of resistance transfer from animals to humans. Antibiotic resistance is often caused by the misusage and/or overuse of antibiotics, as well as poor infection prevention and control. Steps can be taken to limit the transmission of resistance, and also to prevent and control the spread of infections. Research on new and alternative antimicrobial molecules, early detection of diseases, biosafety and control measures for infections in intensive farms will also be in the spotlight in the upcoming AAVM meeting as well.
