On October 28th, 29th, and 30th, 2025, ICARS, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) regional office, and PorkColombia co-hosted a regional event centred around antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in terrestrial animals for the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region.
The three-day event was attended by more than 59 participants from 12 countries. Over the course of the event, delegates attended thematic working sessions, each featuring an introductory presentation, a success story, and group reflections on barriers and opportunities for AMR management in the region.
To conclude the first day, an event was held to mark the closure of the ICARS-supported project: Reducing antimicrobial use through improved provision of colostrum and use of vaccines in weaning pigs in Colombia, which aimed to evaluate the effect of a multifaceted colostrum and vaccine intervention to enhance piglet immune systems, reducing the incidence of diarrhea and the need to use antimicrobials.
About the Colostrum project implemented in Colombian pig farms
The pig industry is a major user of antimicrobials, with the largest volume of antimicrobials used in pig farming being employed to control piglet diarrhea. Piglets usually have weak immune systems, making them prone to diseases before and after weaning, with antimicrobials routinely used to prevent or treat the symptoms.
The project was co-developed to improve rational use of antimicrobials in Colombian pig farming, to lower the risk of drug-resistant bacteria developing in pigs and spreading through the environment.
The project was conducted across multiple pig farms in Colombia, with preliminary results showing that sow vaccination and piglets’ colostrum intake led to more than 50% decrease in piglet diarrhea, with a 91% reduction in the use of antibiotics, most of it through the withdrawal of medicated feed. The project also found that piglets that received colostrum gained more weight.
Key Discussions and Activities
Over three days, participants explored how governance can support regulation and coordination for AMR mitigation, best practices for infection prevention and reduction of antimicrobial use, the role of stewardship in ensuring the prudent and responsible use of antimicrobials and the importance of AMR/AMU surveillance for decision making based on evidence.
Outcomes and Takeaways Â
The event fostered rich, technical discussions and generated clear regional insights on AMR governance, surveillance and the implementation of practical interventions in terrestrial animal production.
Some of the key themes highlighted during discussions included;
- The need for partnerships across sectors to ensure that evidence and best practice are widely disseminated;
- The key role of the private sector enforcing good practices that ensure sustainable AMR mitigation, that can be boosted by appropriate public policies;
- The cost-effectiveness of using existing research data and academic expertise to support policymaking and inform targeted interventions;
- The potential role that academic institutions could play in disseminating resources from government-led AMR initiatives, and in training professionals and paraprofessionals;
- The need to integrate AMR surveillance across human, animal, and environmental sectors to ensure shared learning, laboratory resource optimisation, and enhance understanding of cross-species AMR transmission.
ICARS identified opportunities for further collaboration on AMR prevention, particularly with country partners who are piloting innovative interventions, have strong political will and technical readiness that could be formally adopted into regulation.
Insights from the event will act as the foundation for developing a regional roadmap for AMR mitigation in terrestrial animals, which ICARS and FAO hopes to discuss at the regional One Health AMR meeting in Brazil, in March 2026.
