Sales of veterinary antibiotics are continuing to fall in most European countries, according to the latest figures released by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
Covering sales in EU28 and Switzerland between 2011 and 2014, the EMA’s sixth veterinary antibiotics report shows a decrease of 2.4% in total sales, despite adjusting previous records to accommodate a “considerable increase” in one country due to an improvement in its data collection.
That means that in the 24 countries which provided data throughout the four-year period, the sales decrease was actually 12%.
“This substantial decline in the sales of antimicrobials for food-producing animals observed in some countries indicates that there is also a potential for a decrease in other countries,” said EMA, adding that, despite the low overall decrease in sales of veterinary antimicrobial products, the new data demonstrates that actions taken in the fight against antimicrobial resistance by EU member states are making a difference.