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National & World Ag News Headlines |
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FDA: Antimicrobials in Food-Producing Animals Shows 2-Year Decline
USAgNet - 12/19/2018
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that domestic sales and distribution of all medically important antimicrobials intended for use in food-producing animals decreased by 33 percent between years 2016 and 2017. The 2017 Summary Report on
Antimicrobials Sold or Distributed for Use in Food-Producing Animals also shows that domestic sales and distribution of all medically important antimicrobials decreased 41 percent since 2015 (peak year of sales/distribution) and decreased 28 percent since the
first year of reported sales in 2009. While sales data do not necessarily reflect actual antimicrobial use, the reduction in sales volume observed in 2016 and 2017 is an important indicator that ongoing efforts to support antimicrobial stewardship are having a
significant impact.
The 2017 Summary Report is the first report to include data submitted after the full implementation of Guidance for Industry (GFI) #213. Based on recommendations in GFI #213, all production uses (e.g., growth promotion, feed efficiency) of medically
important antimicrobials in the feed or drinking water of food-producing animals were eliminated, and such drugs can now only be used for therapeutic purposes under veterinary oversight.
Sales and distribution data provide insight regarding the quantity of antimicrobial drugs entering the marketplace. The substantial reduction in the quantity of these drugs sold or distributed in 2017 demonstrates that ongoing stewardship efforts, including those
initiated by FDA and other key stakeholders, are having a measurable impact. At the same time, it is critical to remember that FDA's primary goal with initiatives like GFI #213 and the Center for Veterinary Medicine's five-year action plan is not to reduce
antimicrobial sales volume, but rather, to support the implementation of good antimicrobial stewardship practices in order to slow the development of antimicrobial resistance. Optimizing how antimicrobial drugs are used and limiting their use to only when
necessary to treat, control, or prevent disease will help to preserve the effectiveness of these drugs for fighting disease in both humans and animals.
Although sales data provide insight regarding antimicrobial drugs entering the marketplace, it is also important to consider additional sources of information when assessing progress of efforts to foster judicious antimicrobial use, including actual use data, animal
demographics and animal health data, and data on resistance. The agency continues to work with federal, academic, and industry partners to obtain more information about how, when, and why animal producers and veterinarians use medically important
antimicrobial drugs in food-producing animals. The FDA plans to publish a report in 2019 that integrates and analyzes these other data sources to more fully assess the progress of antimicrobial stewardship efforts.
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