The voluntary collection of data on the sales and use of antimicrobials in animals has played a central role for the past 15 years in monitoring use and encouraging good antibiotic stewardship in the animal sector. AnimalhealthEurope welcomes the newly launched Antimicrobial Sales and Use (ASU) Platform, to which all EU Member States and European Economic Area countries are legally obliged to submit both sales and use data annually.

The European Surveillance of Veterinary Antimicrobial Consumption (ESVAC) project first started in 2009 with 9 countries reporting antibiotic sales data. This quickly expanded to 25 countries in the next years and by its final report in 2023 counted 31 reporting countries. Such data collection along with awareness-raising efforts on improving animal health and ensuring antibiotics are only used when necessary, saw a 53% drop in sales for the 25 countries providing sales data continuously between 2011 and 2022. And sales of EMA priority antimicrobials, also classified by the World Health Organization as critically important in human medicine also fell particularly sharply on the whole. 

Commenting on the new platform, AnimalhealthEurope Secretary General said:

“This data collection platform is an important outcome of the new EU regulation on veterinary medicines which has been in application since January 2022. With more granular data collection including by species, this will allow for better analysis of where and why antibiotics are being used. It can also support identification of best practices which have led to reduced antimicrobial use. We look forward to seeing the first report in March 2025.”

-ENDS –