A report on veterinary antibiotic sales in Ireland during 2019 has revealed that last year’s sales were “considerably lower than in recent years” and are comparable with 2009 figures, according to the Health Products Regulatory Authority.
In a new report published on Tuesday (November 24), the authority noted that the work was conducted in conjunction with the European Surveillance of Veterinary Antimicrobial Consumption (ESVAC) project.
Sales data from 520 veterinary antibiotic medicines authorised in Ireland (including both medicines authorised nationally by the HPRA as well as those authorised centrally by the EU Commission) were collected. These covered 51 individual antibiotic substances.
Source: HPRA
The data are based on self-declarations by applicant companies and have not been subject to independent verification or audit, the authority noted.
“A significant reduction in the sales of veterinary antibiotics was observed in 2019. This is considerably lower than in recent years and is comparable with a figure of 88.3t in 2009,” the report states.
By comparison, 99.1t of veterinary antibiotics were sold in 2013; 89.4t in 2014; 96.9t in 2015; 103.4t in 2016; 99.7t in 2017; and 99.4t in 2018.
In previous years it was noted that “the proportion of pharmaceutical forms [presentations of product] supplied to the market remained similar”.
Source: HPRA
“In 2019, a minor shift from oral remedies [oral pastes, powders and solutions] and injectables back to premixes was observed.”
In its conclusion, the report notes: “A significant reduction in the overall sales of veterinary antibiotics was reported for 2019, with reductions in several classes of antibiotics noted.
Most importantly, sales of the highest priority critically important antibiotics were also reduced.
“This is both welcome and encouraging, and may be the result of national initiatives by a number of stakeholders to encourage prudent use of antimicrobials as part of Ireland’s National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance 2017-2020.
“However, reference to international comparisons show that we must not become complacent. Indeed, the European regulatory climate is changing in an effort to address antimicrobial resistance and further measures to ensure responsible use of veterinary antibiotics are being elaborated,” the report concluded.