Pig industry antibiotic results released

According to data collected using the electronic medicine book (eMB), antibiotic use in 2019 held at 110 mg/PCU. The data represent 95% of pigs slaughtered in the UK and equals usage in 2018, having fallen 60% in the three years prior.

Significantly, the use of highest priority critically important antibiotics (HP-CIAs) has seen a further decrease, down from 0.06 mg/PCU in 2018 to at 0.04 mg/PCU last year. The use of Colistin represents only 0.002 mg/PCU, down from 0.004 mg/PCU.

AHDB’s acting Head of Animal Health & Welfare, Mandy Nevel, said: “The latest antibiotic usage data demonstrate the sustained efforts that pig producers and their vets are making to use antibiotics responsibly, despite challenges from disease.