Four veterinarians join Obamas council on antibiotic resistance

Last year's executive order by President Barack Obama to create a national action plan for combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria has spawned the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria. The 15-member group will advise Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell on programs and policies related to the public health threat associated with antibiotic resistance.

Dr. Lonnie KingThe council's vice chair, Lonnie J. King, DVM, MS, MPA, DACVPM, is also the chair of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) and Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) Joint Task Force on Antibiotic Resistance in Production Agriculture. King says in a release, “The antibiotic resistance problem is very complex and it involves many different facets of our healthcare and food production systems. It threatens the well-being of both people and animals and it has the capacity to be very disruptive from both a public health and an economic standpoint. Given our One Health perspective, the substantial expertise of our members, and our mandate for action, I'm confident we are poised to make some important progress.”

In addition to King, Michael Apley, DVM, PhD, DACVCP, professor in the department of clinical sciences at the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine; Peter Davies, BVSc, PhD, professor of swine health and production at the University of Minnesota; and Randall Singer, DVM, MPVM, PhD, professor of epidemiology in the department of veterinary biomedical sciences at the University of Minnesota, will also serve on the council.

The advisory council convened for the first time Sept. 29 in Washington, D.C.