When three Finnish veterinarians founded Vetcare in 1992, one of their main goals was to reduce the amount of antibiotics prescribed for animals. Though a great deal of progress has been made as a result of systematic efforts, 30 years later this goal is still relevant. To continue making progress towards it, we invest heavily in product development and research.
In Finland, antibiotics are given to farmed animals at a significantly lower rate than in other countries, even within the EU as a whole. For decades, the conditions for farmed animals in Finland have been considerably improved, and with more determination than in many other countries. Thanks to this approach, in Finland there is no need to maintain animal health preventively with antibiotics. Our work to reduce the use of antibiotics has focused on farmed animals, as they are given larger amounts of antibiotics than pets.
Up until now, little research has been done on the use of antibiotics in pets. However, it has been found that bacteria and immunity are transferred between pets and owners. This makes it increasingly important to think critically about the use of antibiotics for pets as well.
The biggest threat is that there are more and more types of bacteria that have become immune to antibiotics. They may not cause great harm to healthy people, but for a person or an animal with lower resistance, antibiotic-resistant bacteria can be very dangerous.
Product development is key to cutting down on antibiotics
Since the founding of Vetcare, we have been involved in studies aimed at finding ways of reducing the amount of antibiotics used in the treatment of mastitis in cows. The solution was the development of an antibiotic preparation with as narrow a spectrum as possible, which is effective specifically against mastitis-causing bacteria that are sensitive to penicillin. Targeted treatment is always more effective than broad-spectrum treatment, but there were no suitable alternatives for the latter type of treatment in Finland.
The narrow-spectrum antibiotic preparation we developed was granted marketing authorisation in Finland in 2002, and in 2007 we obtained marketing authorisation for it in several other EU countries. This was a great sign that in other countries as well, more attention is finally being paid to the excessive use of antibiotics.
Vetcare has also worked on developing new, completely antibiotic-free treatments. One such innovative product we developed, Canius Plus, contains lactic acid bacteria isolated from the intestines of healthy Finnish dogs.
Vigorous development of research and other activities
In addition to medicinal product research, Vetcare also financially supports other research aimed at improving animal welfare. One example is a study conducted by the University of Helsinki aimed at improving farrowing conditions for sows. These conditions are a key factor in their welfare. Animals raised in good conditions are healthier and need significantly fewer antibiotics.
We are also involved in the University of Helsinki’s international HOH Helsinki One Health project, which studies the common factors affecting human and animal health.
For both pets and farmed animals, it is essential to always make an accurate diagnosis and treat problems in as targeted a way as possible. Only the correct antibiotic should be used for treatment, and careful consideration should be given to whether it is even necessary to use antibiotics as opposed to other alternatives.
