SuperbugsFDA Details Rising Sales of Antibiotics for Meat Production

Published 13 December 2019

New data released by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shows that the amount of medically important antibiotics sold and distributed for use in food-producing animals rose by 9 percent between 2017 and 2018, after a 3-year decline. “I’m concerned that we’re going in the wrong direction,” says one expert.

New data released by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shows that the amount of medically important antibiotics sold and distributed for use in food-producing animals rose by 9 percent between 2017 and 2018, after a 3-year decline.

Overall, the FDA says, 2018 is the still the second-lowest sales year on record, and sales of medically important antibiotics for use in livestock are down 21 percent from 2009, the first year of sales data reporting, and 38 percent from the peak sales year of 2015.

The agency also notes that a rebound in sales is not a surprise after the 2017 implementation of new rules that banned the use of medically important antibiotics for growth promotion and required veterinary oversight for use of antibiotics in water and feed.

Although sales and distribution figures do not reflect how the antibiotics are actually being used on farms, they are the best indicator currently available, and experts say the increase is still worrisome, because widespread use of these drugs—which are also used to treat human infections—in meat production is contributing to rising antibiotic resistance.

I’m disheartened by the fact that we have an increase in antibiotic sales,” said veterinary and public health consultant Gail Hansen, DVM. “I’m concerned that we’re going in the wrong direction.”

Increases Seen in Pigs, Cattle
CIDRAP reports that Of the more than 6 million kilograms of medically important antibiotics sold to farmers, 42 percent were used in cattle, 39 percent in swine, 11 percent in turkeys, and 4 percent in chickens. While the amount sold for use in chickens declined 17 percent from 2017, sales of antibiotics for swine and cattle rose by 17 percent and 8 percent, respectively, and increased for turkeys by less than 1 percent.

The most frequently sold class of medically important antibiotics in 2018 for use in livestock were tetracyclines, which accounted for 66 percent of all medically important antibiotic sales. Penicillins accounted for 12 percent of sales, and macrolides for 8 percent. Sales of those three classes rose in 2018, by 12 percent, 6 percent, and 1 percent, respectively.