Reliable estimation of antimicrobial use and its evolution between 2010 and 2013 in French swine farms

Abstract

BackgroundThere has been a strong implication of both the French swine industry and the national authorities on reducing the use of antimicrobials in swine production since 2010. The annual monitoring of antimicrobial sales by the French Veterinary Medicines Agency (Anses-ANMV) provides estimates but not detailed figures on actual on-farm usage of antimicrobials in swine production.ResultsIn order to provide detailed information on the 2010 and 2013 antimicrobial use in the French swine industry, the methodology of cross-sectional retrospective study on a representative sample of at least 150 farms has been elected. The analysis of the collected data shows a strong and significant decrease in antimicrobial exposure of pigs between 2010 and 2013. Over three years, the average number of days of treatment significantly decreased by 29% in suckling piglets and by 19% in weaned piglets. In fattening pigs, the drop (− 29%) was not statistically significant. Only usage in sows did increase over that period (+ 17%, non-significant), which might be associated with the transition to group-housing of pregnant sows that took place at the time. Also, over that period, the use of third- and fourth generation cephalosporins in suckling piglets decreased by 89%, and by 82% in sows, which confirms that the voluntary moratorium on these classes of antimicrobials decided at the end of 2010 has been effectively implemented.ConclusionsThe methodology of random sampling of farms appears as a precise and robust tool to monitor antimicrobial use within a production animal species, able to fulfil industry and national authorities’ objectives and requirements to assess the outcome of concerted efforts on antimicrobial use reduction. It demonstrates that the use of antimicrobials decreased in the French swine industry between 2010 and 2013, including the classes considered as critical for human medicine.

Quantification, description and international comparison of antimicrobial use on Irish pig farms

“…Whether measured by weight of active ingredient or in defined daily doses (TK DDDvet ) almost all antimicrobials were administered orally and primarily to pigs in the weaner stage of production. This is in agreement with several European studies [ 17 – 22 , 45 ] and national reports [ 8 , 9 ]. Approximately 103 t of veterinary antimicrobials were sold in Ireland during 2016, based on sales data submitted by Marketing Authorisation Holders to the Health Products Regulatory Authority [ 46 ].…”

“…Data from some of these schemes were published recently, for example, from Germany [ 12 ] and Belgium [ 10 ]. Elsewhere, data on AMU in pig production derives from a limited number of cross-sectional studies in countries such as Canada [ 13 , 14 ], Austria [ 15 ], France [ 16 , 17 ], Spain [ 18 , 19 ] and Belgium [ 20 ] as well as two pan European studies [ 21 , 22 ]. Several of these studies show that the majority of antimicrobials are administered orally, as group treatments, are frequently applied for prophylactic (to prevent disease) or metaphylactic purposes (to treat a group containing some diseased animals) and primarily administered to pigs post weaning.…”

Calculation of Antimicrobial Use Indicators in Beef Feedlots—Effects of Choice of Metric and Standardized Values

“…For description of AMU at the farm level, ESVAC suggests as a denominator the number of animals present “in a certain weight group or production type and the time present” (27). Dose-based numerators are frequently reported with the denominator of number of exposed animals of a standard weight (28, 29). Number of animal-days has also been advocated as a denominator (17).…”

Monitoring of Farm-Level Antimicrobial Use to Guide Stewardship: Overview of Existing Systems and Analysis of Key Components and Processes

“…The “HIT” system collects AMU data for almost all food-producing animal farms (although selection criteria on farm size are applied for major fattening livestock species). In France, the “INAPORC” surveys will continue to be used until the “GVET” monitoring system is more widely implemented ( 19 ). In the Czech Republic, pilot schemes are currently being used to plan for the establishment of broader systems later.…”