Veterinary Medicines Directorate
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The UK-VARSS 2023 Report presents veterinary antibiotic sales, usage and resistance data from the UK.
The UK-VARSS 2023 Supplementary Material documents provide further details, including supplementary data and details of the methodologies used.
The UK-VARSS 2023 Highlights summarises key facts from the main report.
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Antibiotic sales data
Veterinary pharmaceutical companies submit data annually to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) on their previous years sales of antibiotics authorised for use in animals. The VMD uses the data provided to calculate the volume of active antibiotic ingredient sold.
Sales data are used as an estimate for antibiotic use. However, as not all antibiotics sold will be used, sales figures are generally an overestimate. In addition, many antibiotics are authorised for use in multiple animal species, so it is not possible to determine from sales data how much is used per sector or species. This highlights the importance of collecting antibiotic use data.
Antibiotic use data
The VMD is working in partnership with key food-producing animal sectors to develop, facilitate and coordinate antibiotic use collection systems.
Antibiotic use refers to the amount of antibiotics purchased, prescribed and/or administered. Producers, feed companies and veterinary practice sales records provided the antibiotic use data presented in the UK-VARSS report.
UK-VARSS 2023 presents use data from the meat poultry, laying hen, pig, gamebird, salmon and trout sectors. Available antibiotic use data from a sub-section of the ruminant sector is also included.
Monitoring of antibiotic resistance
The VMD monitors antibiotic resistance through two programmes: harmonised monitoring, which is a UK-wide, representative programme conducted on animals entering the food chain, and a clinical surveillance programme in England and Wales, which relies on the voluntary submission of diagnostic samples by farmers and veterinary surgeons.
Harmonised monitoring involves the collection of samples from healthy livestock at slaughter. Samples are tested for the presence of antibiotic resistant bacteria. The bacteria of interest are those which can potentially transfer between animals and humans (zoonotic organisms). This includes bacteria which are common causes of food poisoning such as Salmonella and Escherichia coli.
The clinical surveillance programme involves the collection of clinical samples that have been submitted to government and partner laboratories by a farmer or veterinary surgeon for diagnostic purposes. Any bacteria identified, including those which may cause disease in animals (veterinary pathogens), are tested for antibiotic resistance. Clinical data is also provided by laboratories in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
You can find previous UK-VARSS reports on thecollection page.