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Effective alternatives to antibiotics (ATA) such as vaccines, antibodies, phage therapies, prebiotics, probiotics and herbal medicines can be used in place of traditional antibiotics in a way that does not compromise animal health as means of tackling the growing threat to both animal and human health from antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This paper reflects the key points on the approaches that were discussed during the 2nd International Symposium on ATA between regulatory agencies, veterinary product companies representing largely the pharmaceutical and feed-additive sectors, academia and other stakeholders on regulatory pathways to enable the licensing of alternatives to antibiotics for food producing animals. The need to demonstrate compliance with generally accepted standards for quality, safety and efficacy is considered a pre-requisite for all veterinary medicinal products receiving an authorisation including ATA, irrespective of the region in which they are approved. ATA are often based on novel technologies, with complex mechanisms of action; therefore, early and close communication with regulators is encouraged. In addition, strategic use by ATA applicants of all regulatory tools available to support innovation is highly recommended. The veterinary product manufacturers consider that the regulation of veterinary medicines should evolve to accommodate innovative ATA technologies and incentives from regulatory agencies provided to stimulate further ATA development.

A solid-phase competition ELISA has been developed to measure antibodies to foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus and has been validated using an extensive range of sera from cattle. The assay uses polyclonal antisera and inactivated purified 146S antigens of FMD virus and was compared with the liquid-phase blocking ELISA and the virus neutralisation test on a range of serum sets. When examining test sera at a 1:5 dilution with a cut-off point of 30% inhibition of reaction, the solid-phase competition ELISA was as sensitive as the liquid-phase blocking ELISA for sera from infected or vaccinated animals. The limit of detection of the solid-phase ELISA was similar to that of the liquid-phase assay and both tests had lower limit of detection (i.e. were able to detect lower amounts of antibody) than the virus neutralisation test. The specificity of the solid-phase ELISA was considerably higher than that of the liquid-phase blocking ELISA and almost equivalent to that of the virus neutralisation test. The assay thus retains the sensitivity of the liquid-phase blocking ELISA whilst being easier to use, more robust and specific, and therefore offers an improvement for FMD virus antibody detection.

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview of the UNESCO/ United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Environmental Program and its Implications for British environmental education. The origin of the program was recommendation 96 of the UN Stockholm Conference, and UNESCO was given the responsibility because of its worldwide contacts and experience in the field of education and science. Following the Workshop in Beograd, the UNESCO Environmental Education Program has moved into a stage of consolidation and innovation. The channels through which UNESCO operates vary from one country to another, with the UNESCO National Commission being located in a number of different ministries. Very often, the valuable publications of UNESCO do not achieve a widespread circulation, and until April, the UK contact body for the UNESCO Environmental Education Program was the Ministry for Overseas Development, which is not involved in environmental education. Another problem with the UN and other international agencies is the amount of money they spend on grandiose events, fares, hotels, and expensive consultants. The environmental education movement in Britain must have something more than good intentions.