On 31 March, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) published its first surveillance report for2023 under the ESUAvet (European Sales and Use of Antimicrobials for Veterinary Medicine) initiative, covering data on the sales and use of antimicrobials in animals across the EU.
For the first time, all 27 EU Member States, along with Iceland and Norway, reported national data on both sales and usage of veterinary antimicrobials.
The report notably highlights the following key findings:
- Sales data: Antibiotics for food-producing animals accounted for 98% of total EU veterinary antimicrobial sales. The most sold antibiotic classes were penicillins, tetracyclines, and sulfonamides. According to EMA’s AMEG categorisation, 65% of sales involved category D substances (first-line treatments), 29% category C (to be used when D options are ineffective), and 6% category B (critically important for human medicine and restricted in animals).
- Use data: Usage data were collected for four major food-producing species: cattle, pigs, chickens, and turkeys. In 16 countries, veterinarians were the sole data providers, while the remaining 13 involved other sources such as pharmacies, feed mills, farmers, and retailers.
As this is the first EU-wide data collection on antimicrobial use, some Member States are still developing or refining their systems. Consequently, 2023 data were not sufficiently complete to allow quantitative analysis. However, the initiative has already fostered strong cooperation among reporting countries, supported by experienced data contributors, paving the way for more robust future reporting.