GUT HEAL ▶▶▶TH
US antibiotics usage: the numbers explained
In the United States, usage of medically important antimicrobials on swine farms dropped to historical lows after a major directive came into effect in 2017. It’s expected that new health-related on-farm technologies and alternative therapies will help it stay there.
BY TREENA HEIN, CORRESPONDENT A 20
long with the swine industries in other countries, the US swine sector has taken serious steps to de- crease the use of medically important antimicrobi- als (MIA). One big step came on 1 January 2017
when the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) came into effect, providing veterinarians across the country with a framework for authorising MIA use in feed. In addition, US pork produc- ers use a programme called PQA Plus to help them manage antibiotic use, reinforced by the National Pork Producers Council in its Pork Industry Guide to Responsible Antibiotic Use. Because of these initiatives, MIAs sold in the US for pigs (in terms of active drug ingredients purchased and given orally or by injection) dropped from 3.1 million kg in 2016 to 2.0 in 2017. That became clear from the Annual Summary Report on antimicrobials sold for use in food-producing animals: key find- ings for swine producers, which was released in late 2020. This report by Michigan State University authors builds on the an- nual summary report by the US Food and Drug Administra- tion (FDA), which was released in 2019, analysing data from 2018. Dr David Thompson, an extension swine educator at Michi- gan State University extension services, is one of the report’s authors. He notes that, while there was a dramatic usage de- crease in 2017, there was a significant increase in 2018 of
▶ PIG PROGRESS | Volume 37, No. 2, 2021
A piglet is injected at Michigan State University’s Swine Teaching & Research Center.
17% – and another rise of 8% in 2019 (from the most recent FDA report). The usage rise in 2018 is due to a few factors, including a pork production increase of 3% that year over 2017. Most of the in- creased use came in the form of tetracyclines, and Dr Thomp- son and his colleagues hypothesise that farmers have been reintroducing this antibiotic in both feed and water to com- bat scours. However, from analysing comments from a 2018 survey of producers, they also think that “producers are using antibiotics because they need them for preventing/treating illness, and not for purposes directly related to performance”.
Below historic averages Dr Thompson and his colleague and co-author Elizabeth Ferry also note that 97% of sales of MIAs for use in pigs in 2018 were under a veterinarian’s prescription and/or under a VFD. They conclude that overall, use of antibiotics for swine production – in light of the amount of pork produced – “re- mains well below historical averages, and suggest US pork producers remain committed and on the right track in their antibiotic stewardship efforts”. Dr Thompson’s team has applied for funding to do a follow- up survey; if the funding is received this spring, they will target Midwest swine veterinarians and the 2,000 pork
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