UK livestock farmers slashed their use of antibiotics by a further 18% last year - meaning veterinary sales of the drugs have fallen by over a third since 2013.
Veterinary sales of antibiotics for use in farm animals fell to 37mg/kg in 2017 - a 40% drop from 2013 levels, according to latest data from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD).
Sales of highest priority critically-important antibiotics (HP-CIAs) fell by 29% last year, its 2017 Veterinary Antimicrobial Resistance and Sales Surveillance (VARSS) report revealed.
The data was welcomed by the Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture (RUMA) Alliance, which noted the UK was one of the lowest users of antibiotics for farm animals in Europe.
However, chair Gwyn Jones warned there was still “lots more to do” for the livestock industry to meet its 2020 antibiotic use targets.
Most reductions over the past few years had come from the poultry, pig and gamebird sectors, he noted, which had released “comprehensive usage figures covering almost all of their producers”.
In contrast, the dairy, beef and sheep sectors were lagging behind on monitoring antibiotic use, with national datasets “harder to capture” due to their diverse supply chains, the large number of producers involved and the greater prevalence of mixed enterprises.
“This means we can’t be sure of how representative the figures are,” he warned.
Accurate figures for use by species on farms were “critical to understand patterns in individual sectors,” Jones insisted. “They are also needed to help those sectors monitor, improve and get recognition for their achievements - and to meet their 2020 antibiotic use targets.
Tighter controls
It comes as a group of MPs this week urged the government to introduce “tight controls” on the use of antibiotics used as a ‘last resort’ when treating human infections.
In a report published on Monday (22 October) following its inquiry into antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the Parliamentary Health and Social Care Committee noted the progress made by the industry in reducing antibiotics in animals, but said Defra must ensure this progress was “embedded and in some areas extended”, with targets kept under review.
”Serious concerns remain about the prophylactic or metaphylactic use of antibiotics in animals, and the use of antibiotics of last resort that may as a result lose their effectiveness for humans more quickly,” the Committee said.
“It is essential that tight controls on these practices are introduced and maintained following the UK’s departure from the EU.”
The MPs also called on the government to make a “clear commitment that any future trade deals will require any meat and dairy produce imported into the UK to meet at least the same standards relating to antibiotic use which apply to meat and dairy products produced in the EU.”
According to a Public Health England published earlier this month, there has been a “continued rise” in antibiotic-resistant infections in humans. The total number of antibiotic-resistant bloodstream infections increased by 35% from 2013 to 2017, it found.
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