1 Nov 2023
Newly published analysis has revealed sales of the medication for food-producing animals fell substantially last year and are down nearly 60% since 2014.
Allister Webb
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Image © Peter Hermes Furian / Fotolia
New figures released today (1 November) have revealed another substantial fall in the volume of veterinary antibiotics being sold for use in food-producing animals.
The annual UK-Veterinary Antimicrobial Resistance and Sales Surveillance (VARSS) report showed sales of the products were 9% lower in 2022 than the previous year and down 59% overall since 2014.
Meanwhile, separate analysis by the Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture Alliance (RUMA) Targets Task Force found that most of its aims in the area are either on course, being met or exceeded.
The findings were outlined during the first in a series of five RUMA conference webinars that are taking place throughout November to explore broader issues around medicine usage.
The VARSS analysis showed total antibiotic sales for food production of 193 tonnes or 25.7 mg/kg in 2022, both the lowest annual figures recorded.
Use of the highest priority antibiotics also remains very low, accounting for less than 0.5% of all sales.
VMD chief executive Abigail Seager described the findings as “encouraging” and praised the work of vets and farmers in achieving the reductions.
She said: “All these results demonstrate how collaborative efforts between industry and government have led to antibiotic stewardship principles becoming embedded in veterinary practice and UK farming, to address the challenge of AMR.”
Although most food production groups saw reductions in usage, a significant increase was recorded in the trout sector, where usage jumped from 9 mg/kg in 2021 to 44.1 in 2022.
That has been attributed to appropriate diagnosis and treatment of an outbreak of Aeromonas salmonicida on a small number of production sites and officials say usage levels are expected to fall back below industry targets in 2023.
RUMA chairperson Catherine McLaughlin said industry should be proud of its record and argued that eliminating the use of antibiotics altogether was “neither viable nor responsible”.
She added: “People and animals do get sick at times even with the best health care and preventive plans in place, and antibiotics remain a key medicine in the treatment ‘toolbox’ to help people and animals recover.
“In those situations, antibiotics are rightfully needed and should be delivered under the mantra of ‘as little as possible, as much as necessary’.
“By only using antibiotics when truly needed, UK agriculture continues to play its role in tackling AMR and protecting the efficacy of these important medicines long into the future.”
The RUMA report has also included data recorded through the Medicines Hub livestock data collection programme for the first time.
Although it is expected the data will become more robust in the coming years, Dr McLaughlin said it did offer reassurance about low antibiotic use levels.
