Antimicrobial Use & Stewardship
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About the AUS Program
California Senate Bill 27 (Hill), signed by Governor Brown on October 10, 2015, resulted in additions to the California Food and Agricultural Code (Division 7, Chapter 4.5, Sections 14400-14408) that address the use of medically important antimicrobial drugs in livestock, development of antimicrobial stewardship guidelines and best management practices, and surveillance of antimicrobial use as well as antimicrobial resistance patterns in bacteria.
In California, effective January 1st of 2018, over the counter injectable and all other medically important antimicrobials must be administered with a prescription or veterinary feed directive (VFD) ordered by a California licensed veterinarian under a valid veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR). The law also requires the California Department of Food & Agriculture to ensure that livestock producers in rural areas continue to have timely access to antimicrobials.
Note that these changes are separate from the federal regulations regarding antimicrobials in feed and water that became effective on January 1, 2017.
AUS Implementation
AUS Annual Reports
Description and highlights of different program activities for the fiscal year. In addition, the attached appendix provides more detailed information for a selection of AUS' studies and projects.
Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) Summary Reports
Annual summaries of manufacturing and distribution data for California medicated feed containing a VFD drug or combination VFD drugs, by VFD order written by a licensed veterinarian.
AUS 2019 Report to the Legislature
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Antimicrobial Use and Stewardship (AUS) program is tasked with implementing the directives of Food and Agricultural Code 14400-14408. AUS is responsible for assessment, education, and enforcement of antimicrobial use for livestock in California. The AUS 2019 Report to the Legislature aims to fulfill the mandate in FAC 14405 (d) by providing the results of the program's outreach activities and monitoring efforts.