Source: Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE, 2/19/19


More countries are prioritizing data collection and regulations around the use of antimicrobials in food animals, according to a new reportreleased by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

In the agency’s third annual data collection — a global and regional analysis from 2015 to 2017 — a record 155 countries participated, showing progress since the first data collection when 130 countries participated.

Additionally, 118 of the 155 countries in the latest round reported quantitative data for one or more years between 2015 and 2017, an increase compared to the 89 and 107 countries doing so in the first and second rounds, respectively.

“The OIE’s partners consider the OIE data collection on the use of antimicrobials in animals and the progress achieved by the 153 OIE Member Countries and two non-OIE Member Countries that participated in the data collection in the third round to be a major milestone in the global effort to contain antimicrobial resistance,” said OIE Director General Dr. Monique Eloit the report’s foreword.
OIE officials also noted an apparent reduction in the use of antimicrobials for growth promotion in food animals. Only 45 countries reported continued use of that practice, down from 60 in the last round. But only 18 of those 45 countries had a regulatory framework that either provided a list of antimicrobials that can be used as growth promoters or a list of those that should not be uses as growth promoters.

Lack of a regulatory framework was the primary response from countries when asked in this round of data collection to report the barriers they face in reporting quantitative data on animal antibiotics. Thirty-one countries explained their barriers, reporting primarily a lack of regulatory framework, and lack of tools and human resources. Seven countries (23 percent) said actions will begin in the near future to facilitate their reporting of quantities of antimicrobials to the OIE.

In September 2016, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a political declaration to combat global antimicrobial resistance. The OIE, the World Health Organization and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization together supported that declaration.

The OIE has created a global database on the use of antimicrobial agents in animals, within the framework of the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance. The first and second OIE Annual Report on the Use of Antimicrobial Agents in Animals were published in December 2016 and 2017, respectively.

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To read the report, click here.