The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday announced that domestic sales and distribution of medically important antimicrobial drugs intended for use in chicken production decreased by 13 percent from 2018 to 2019.
The report noted that the use of such antimicrobials in chicken production dropped 62 percent between 2016-2019, including the previously mentioned 13 percent drop. Antimicrobial drug usage in swine from 2018 to 2019 rose nine percent, while usage in cattle production during that period remained flat, usage in turkey production dropped four percent, and usage in specialty proteins dropped three percent.
The report estimated that domestic sales and distribution of all medically important antimicrobials increased three percent from 2018 to 2019 but has decreased by 36 percent from 2015 through 2019.
FDA estimated that 42 percent of medically important antimicrobial drugs approved for use in food-producing animals went to swine, followed by 41 percent to cattle, 10 percent to turkey, four percent to various specialty proteins and just three percent to chicken.
“We all have a role to play in preserving the effectiveness of antibiotics, both in humans and animals,” noted Ashley Peterson, Ph.D., NCC senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs. “We’re proud to say that chicken producers have been leaders in proactively taking steps toward finding alternative ways to control disease while reducing antibiotic use, especially those important to human medicine. Although sales data does not have a direct impact on human health or antimicrobial resistance, this new data reflects a significant reduction in sales and distribution of medically important antibiotics across the chicken industry.
“Regardless of production practice, the health of our birds is the top priority and we support stewardship and responsible antibiotic use when necessary to treat and prevent disease under the prescription of a licensed veterinarian,” Peterson said.
The data announced in the report are sponsor estimates of product sales and are not intended to be a substitute for actual usage data, the FDA noted in the report. For example, veterinarians and animal producers may purchase drugs, but never actually administer them to animals, or administer them at a later time.
The Animal Drug User Fee Act of 2008 (ADUFA) requires that each year, every sponsor of an approved or conditionally approved animal drug application containing an antimicrobial active ingredient must report to the FDA the amount of each such ingredient in that drug product sold or distributed for use in food-producing animals. The FDA then summarizes the information from such reporting and makes the estimated data available in annual summaries. The FDA in 2016 began reporting usage by animal species.
The full report can be found here.
