Animal Health Antibiotics Sales Slip by 55%

The UK administration’s Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) announced on the 8th November that the number of antibiotic sales within the livestock sectors has plummeted by 55% compared to what it was in 2014, now officially the smallest sales quantity on record.

According to the most recent UK-VARSS (UK-Veterinary Antibiotic Resistance and Sales Surveillance), the specific areas where the UK is losing their ability to responsibly manage antibiotic sales include trout, chicken, pig and duck divisions. However, on the positive side, the UK is sustaining global success across the livestock sector overall.

Antibiotic resistance arises when microorganisms that are the source of infection change, and no longer react to medicines which normally destroy them or stop their growth, therefore infections become more difficult to manage.

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is generally understood as one of the biggest risks to human and animal health, according to the WHO.

Overusing antibiotics increases the possibility of resistance developing, thus using them wisely is essential to guarantee that they remain to be effective in both people and animals.

Sales for “last resort” antibiotics have decreased by over 80% since 2014 as a result of a significant attempt not to use them as often as before, hence preserving their effectiveness. The share of sales for this product in the market now sits at just 0.4%.

In Europe, the UK continues to use the fewest antibiotics on farm animals and has seen the greatest decline in resistance towards them.

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