Source: Mike Apley, 785-532-4167, mapley@vet.k-state.edu
Web sites: http://www.icuacp.beefcattleinstitute.org/ and
http://www.beefcattleinstitute.org
News release prepared by: Beth Bohn, 785-532-6415, bbohn@k-state.edu

Thursday, March 19, 2009

ANTIMICROBIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY TESTING AND EFFECTIVENESS TOPIC OF PRESENTATIONS BY K-STATE VETERINARIANS FOR UPCOMING INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AT K-STATE

MANHATTAN -- Antimicrobial susceptibility testing and the uses of antimicrobials in cattle will be the topic of presentations by the director of Kansas State University's PharmCATS Bioanalytical Laboratory and a K-State graduate student at the upcoming International Conference on the Use of Antimicrobials in Cattle Production.

Organized by K-State's Beef Cattle Institute, the conference will be May 27-29 at the K-State Student Union. Its purpose is to educate consumers, producers and veterinarians about the use of antimicrobials, including antibiotics, in cattle production.

Among the internationally recognized speakers who will be presenting at the conference will be Dr. Mike Apley, associate professor of production medicine/clinical pharmacology and director of K-State's PharmCATS Bioanalytical Laboratory, and Dr. Jamie Kotschwar, a K-State graduate student in biomedical sciences who earned her doctor of veterinary medicine degree from K-State in May 2008.

Apley and Kotschwar will present "What Difference Do Antimicrobials Make?" at the conference.

"Antimicrobials are used for multiple purposes in cattle, with the effects of their use an essential component of any discussion related to antimicrobial resistance," Apley said.

Apley also will make a presentation on antimicrobial susceptibility testing. The presentation will bring conference attendees up to speed on the interaction of antimicrobials and pathogens.

"Antimicrobial susceptibility testing, also known as sensitivity testing, is the basis for all of the discussions on resistant bacteria," Apley said. "There are a lot of things to know about how to interpret these results, especially to know what one is saying when they throw around the 'R' word," he said.

Apley researches antimicrobial resistance, as well as food animal therapeutics and pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of veterinary drugs. He has been recognized as one of the six most influential veterinarians in the cattle feeding industry in the past 35 years by Bovine Veterinarian magazine.

More information on the conference, including how to register and a schedule of events, is available at http://www.icuacp.beefcattleinstitute.org