Belgian livestock sector achieves record decrease in the use of antibiotics
AMCRA, the Belgian knowledge centre for the use of antibiotics and resistance in animals, reports that last year was the largest reduction in the use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine since 2011.
In its ‘2020 Vision’ plan, AMCRA set focus on three ambitious goals: a decrease in the total use of antibiotics by 50% by the end of 2020; a decrease in the use of critical antibiotics by 75% by the end of 2020; and a decrease in the use of feeds medicated with antibiotics by 50% by the end of 2017.
By now, for the total use of antibiotics, Amcra recorded a decrease of 12.8% compared to 2017 and of 35.4% compared to 2011. As far as the use of critical antibiotics is concerned, there was an increase of 34.4% in 2018. Although if we compare to 2011, we can see a reduction of 79.1% so that the pre-established target of 75% was more than achieved. The use of feeds medicated with antibiotics has also decreased. The reduction achieved between 2011 and 2018 is an impressive 69.8%.
Pig farming is the sector that leads the top in reducing antibiotics in livestock. “As has already been proven by the pig sector, benchmarking makes it possible to create more awareness amongst livestock farmers and vets. This will have a positive impact to achieve further reduction in the total use of antibiotics”, says Dr. Fabiana Dal Pozzo, AMCRA coordinator.
The reduction in the use of critical antibiotics generated a clear reduction in the resistance to these antibiotics. Nevertheless, the resistance to frequently used antibiotics remains just as high as in 2011.
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