20 November 2022 – FVE Press Release
Today, the European Medicines Agency published its 13th report on the European Surveillance of Veterinary Antimicrobial Consumption (ESVAC), covering data from 31 countries for 2022.
The report shows that sales of veterinary antibiotic medicinal products in Europe has fallen considerably since 2011, as a decrease of 53% between 2011 and 2022 is reported. Notably, a 12.7% decrease was observed between 2021 and 2022. A further decreasing trend is seen for the Critically Important Antibiotics classified by EMA in the AMEG Category B.
The ESVAC report also reports on the Farm to Fork goal. Since 2018, sales in the EU have decreased by 28.3% in 2022, achieving already more than half of the target of a reduction of 50% for aggregated sales for all EU Member States set for 2030.
The Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE) celebrates these fantastic results, which are the result of the whole veterinary sector, together with its allied professions, working collaboratively and their joint commitment to reduce the need to use antibiotic through improved husbandry conditions, better biosecurity and regular preventive animal health visits , enhance responsible and prudent use of antimicrobials and fight antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
FVE, together with EPRUMA, has been proactively promoting best practices on responsible use, awareness campaigns, guidelines, and policy papers.
FVE will actively continue to ensure the implementation of prudent and responsible use of antimicrobials by supporting veterinarians and farmers in all EU Member States to reach the set Farm to Fork target. FVE is delighted to be part of the consortium that will organise the training workshops for veterinarians and farmers to facilitate the proper implementation of the new Veterinary Medicinal Products Regulations and share good practices on responsible use. Thirty workshops will be held in the next 3 years across the 27 EU countries as part of a project supervised and funded by the European Commission.
The veterinary profession remains strongly committed to combat AMR in a ‘One Health’ approach, following scientific evidence. To be effective, coordinated action toward prudent and responsible use of antibiotics is needed.
To mark European Antibiotic Awareness Day 2023, the Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME) and the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE) highlighted their continuous commitment to spearhead the fight against AMR together.
