Indian J Dairy Sci 75(4): 359-364 359 RESEARCH ARTICLE A study on the trends of antibiotic usage in dairy animals of Jammu division Rakhshan Jeelani, Asma Khan, Dipanjali Konwar and Biswajit Brahma Division of Livestock Production & Management, University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Jammu, R. S. Pura, Jammu 181 102, India Asma Khan () Division of Livestock Production and Management, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, India 181104 E-mail: asmakhan70m@gmail.com; Phone: +91-9419112132 Received: 24 March 2022 / Accepted: 10 May 2022 / Published online: 20 August 2022 Indian Dairy Association (India) 2022 © Abstract: Antibiotics are becoming increasingly ineffective as drug-resistance spreads globally. This study documents the trend of usage of antibiotics in dairy animals of Jammu. Data regarding the usage pattern of veterinary antibiotics was collected from the records of government veterinary hospitals and veterinary pharmaceutical companies from 2016-2021.The data were analysed to check the widely used antibiotics and there trend of usage. The study revealed that beta-lactums were the most used antibiotics, followed by floroquinolones. The aminoglycosides were also used in noticeable amount with maximum usage. In cattle and buffalo beta-lactums and floroquinolones were the most used antibiotics, respectively. Beta-lactums were preferred in case of cattle calf while as in case of buffalo calf tetracyclines were the drug of choice. In case of clinical mastitis beta lactum class of antibiotics was the most used drug for treatment. In case of fever, diarrhoea, metritis and other diseases such as retention of placenta, abscess, or wound, floroquinolones were most widely used antibiotics. Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR); Beta-lactum; Drug resistance; Jammu region Introduction The term antibiotics includes a broad range of chemical substances that are produced naturally, semi-synthetically and synthetically used to inhibit bacterial growth (bacteriostatic) or kill them (bactericidal). Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites transform with time to render the action of drugs as ineffective, thus increasing the hazard of disease spread, morbidity and mortality. Antibiotics are used in livestock production as therapeutics, growth promoters, and prophylactics. Antibiotics are becoming increasingly ineffective as drug-resistance spreads globally. Usage of antibiotics is an important element in the management of udder hygiene to treat clinical or sub-clinical mastitis (Steeneveld et al. 2011; van den Borne et al. 2010), and at dry-off to prevent mastitis cases (Halasa et al. 2009) in dairy herds. Despite large scale usage of antibiotics in livestock production, comparatively less attention has been given to its contribution to the overall problem of antibiotic resistance. In September 2016, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly recognized the inappropriate use of antimicrobials in animals as a leading cause of rising AMR. The dairy industry is a major consumer of antibiotics globally and treatment of infected udder is the most common reason of use of antibiotics in cows (Pol and Ruegg, 2007). The occurrence of Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in foods of animal origin, pose a serious threat to the well-being of humans due to innumerable clinical implications. There is a potential risk of transmission of S. aureus and MRSA to humans through raw milk if consumed without maintaining adequate hygienic standards. The new WHO recommendations (WHO, 2017) urges prudent usage of antibiotics to reduce the risk of antimicrobial resistance. To optimize usage of antibiotics, it is important to understand antimicrobial treatment patterns for udder health in dairy cattle herds and investigate factors that influence or enhance the treatments, and also other factors, such as spread of pathogens (Halasa et al. 2010) and antimicrobial resistance pattern. Unlike for human medicine, there is only limited information (public or private) on veterinary antimicrobial usage accessible to the public health community. The emergence of antibiotic resistance is threatening the public health in industrialized as well as developing countries, resulting in therapy failure and increased health-care expenditures. Recent reviews have identified a lack of data on the pattern of antimicrobial use as an impediment to the design of measures to tackle this growing problem (Jones et al. 2015). Antibiotic resistance is a dynamic process and needs https://doi.org/10.33785/IJDS.2022.v75i04.009