Research for reponsible use of antimicrobials in veterinary medicine
“From a One health perspective, responsible use of antimicrobials in veterinary medicine is essential to preserve the effectiveness of these drugs for treating bacterial infections in both humans and animals", says Ida Sjöberg, new PhD at the Department of Clinical Sciences.
“My name is Ida Sjöberg, and I am a veterinarian specializing in horses. In my PhD research, I studied different methods of castration stallions to find out the best approach. My thesis is called “The hunt for the perfect castration”.”
“Antimicrobial prophylaxis is sometimes used in both human and animal surgery to prevent surgical site infection. However, to reduce the spread of antimicrobial resistance, prophylactic antibiotics should only be used when truly necessary – that is, when the risk of infection is higher than 5 percent. The use of antimicrobials during horse castrations has been debated. Most studies show that the infection rate for castrations performed under general anesthesia in hospital setting is below 5 percent.”
“My research found that if castration was carried out as a sterile procedure, antimicrobial prophylaxis was not needed, since the risk of infection did not increase without it.”
How does your research align with One Health?
“From a One health perspective, responsible use of antimicrobials in veterinary medicine is essential to preserve the effectiveness of these drugs for treating bacterial infections in both humans and animals.”
What are your plans after your PhD?
“After completing my PhD, I returned to working part-time as an equine veterinarian at Evidensia Specialisthästsjukhuset Strömsholm. In my spare time, I am finalizing a few manuscripts that I plan to submit for publication.”
Relevant links
The hunt for the perfect castration in horses | SLU publication database (SLUpub)