Sales of antibiotics for use in food-producing animals have dropped by more than 40% across Europe over a 10-year period.

Data contained in the European Surveillance of Veterinary Antimicrobial Consumption (ESVAC), showed that the drop in antibiotics use was 43% between 2011 and 2020.

In Ireland, during the same period, there was an 8% reduction in antibiotics sales.

The ESVAC report is published annually by the European Medicines Agency.

Despite the European-wide drop, there was an increase in sales of 6% in 2020 when compared to 2019.

According to the report, sales of antimicrobials that are considered critically important in human medicine, decreased noticeably between 2011 and 2020 and accounted for only 6% of total sales in 2020.

In particular, sales of third- and fourth- generation cephalosporins dropped by 33%; polymyxins by 76%; fluoroquinolones by 13%; and sales of other quinolones dropped by 85%.

These classes include antimicrobials used to treat serious infections in humans that are caused by bacteria resistant to most other antimicrobial treatments, according to the report.

In animals, these should be used with restrictions in order to preserve their effectiveness and mitigate the risk to public health.

Commenting on the report, head of EMA’s veterinary medicines division, Ivo Claassen said:

“The decrease in sales of antimicrobials for use in animals over 10 years shows that EU policy initiatives combined with guidance and national campaigns promoting prudent use of antimicrobials in animals are having a positive effect.”

This is the eleventh ESVAC report and it presents data from 30 European countries (including the UK as an EU member state during the calendar years covered in the report) and Switzerland.

The ESVAC report is published annually and is used as a reference source of information for scientists, veterinarians and other health professionals, risk assessors and policy makers in the EU Member States on the topic of antimicrobial resistance.

Under Regulation (EU) 2019/6, reporting of sales and use data for antimicrobials in animals will become a legal obligation for EU member states and the Agency.

The new requirements will apply to data from 2023 onwards.