Prof. John Prescott, University professor emeritus in the Ontario Veterinary College’s Department of Pathobiology, is available to discuss a new Council of Canadian Academies expert panel report entitled “When Antibiotics Fail.”

Prescott was one of more than a dozen experts on the panel, offering his expertise on antimicrobial resistance in livestock. Prescott has conducted research in the  area of improved antimicrobial use in farm animals for 25 years, and is the author of Antimicrobial Therapy in Veterinary Medicine.

The CCA report noted that in 2018, 26 percent of infections in Canada were resistant the antibiotics generally used to treat them; that proportion could rise to 40 percent by 2050 if practices don’t change.

The report noted that the Canadian agriculture industry has already made strides in decreasing antimicrobial use, but agriculture is experiencing the effects of antimicrobial resistance, “with the health of animals and current industrial practices under threat.”

Prof. Prescott is available for interviews.