Fewer antibiotics in Dutch livestock farming
In the Netherlands, veterinary use of antibiotics decreased by 2003% in 2. This observed decrease does not include the reduced use of antibiotics as an additive in animal feed. In anticipation of January 1, 2006, when antibiotics will no longer be permitted as additives in animal feed, many animal feed producers have already stopped using antibiotics.
regulation for use
In the Netherlands, the prescription and administration of antibiotics is reserved for veterinarians. In addition, the IKB (Integral Ketenbeheersing) quality assurance system includes further requirements for the use of antibiotics.
A large part of the antibiotics used - the so-called "multi-species agents" - can be used for different animal species. As a result, it is not possible to allocate the use of all antibiotics by animal species. For all animal species together, the amount of antibiotics used for curative purposes, based on the active substance in kilograms, has fallen by around 2%. If you look at the situation with the agents that can only be used for one species of animal, a drop of 8% can be observed for pig antibiotics.
Taking into account the composition of funds
Not all antibiotics are created equal. When assessing the use of antibiotics, it is therefore important to take into account which agents are used and what the proportional distributions are. International comparisons have shown unusable results due to the difference in the materials used. However, any comparisons made on the basis of “amount of doses administered” can be useful; however, the information required for this is often missing.
In the Netherlands, the "classic" drugs, such as tetracycline and sulfonamide combinations, are often used. In 2003, tetracycline use increased somewhat at the expense of other drugs. The classic substances are not as strong in their effect as the modern active ingredients, such as fluoquinolones. Such agents are only used to a very limited extent, which means that their mode of action in human medicine is optimally preserved (see diagram).
Graph: Proportional distribution of antibiotics used for curative purposes in the Netherlands (source: FIDIN)
| antibiotic groups | Amount of active ingredient | change | percentage |
| penicillin/cephalosporins | 38 | -6% | Present in several = 10% |
| tetracycline | 227 | + 1 % | Present in several = 58% |
| macrolide antibiotics | 18 | -11% | 4% |
| Aminoglycoside antibiotics | 9 | -12% | 2% |
| fluoquinolones | 5 | -2% | 1% |
| trimethoprim sulfonamide | 90 | -4% | Present in several = 23% |
| Other | 7 | -9% | 2% |
| Total | 394 | -2% | Present in several = 100% |
These consumption figures were taken from the Antibiotics Report 2003 of the Association of Manufacturers and Exporters of Veterinary Drugs in the Netherlands (FIDIN).
Registry: Tools to Curb Antimicrobial Resistance
Registering the amounts of antibiotics used is an important part of antimicrobial resistance surveillance. In order to determine any residues in the meat, the choice of the agent and compliance with the prescribed waiting times are of greater importance. These two facets of the use of veterinary medicinal products are regulated in detail in the Dutch Code of Good Veterinary Practice (GVP), a part of IKB.
Antimicrobial resistance has been monitored in the animal sector since 1999. Such monitoring has been carried out in human medicine for a long time. The results are internationally coordinated. The latest result of these activities is the 2002 annual report of the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System and can be accessed on the Internet at
www.earss.rivm.nl/PAGINA/DOC/rep2002/annual-report-2002.pdf
According to international reports, the situation regarding emerging antibiotic resistance in the Netherlands is quite favourable.
Source: Düsseldorf [dmb]
