June 14, 2021
 

Antibiotic use in Belgium's swine herd fell in 2020 while still staying high

Antibiotic use in Belgium's swine herd have dropped last year even as the amount of antibiotics employed in this segment is high at 101.7 tonnes.

Meanwhile, the results of the latest Amcra Barometer, from the first quarter of 2019 to the fourth quarter of 2020, confirmed previous trends indicating an increase in antibiotic use in animal species registered in Sanitel-Med.

Antibiotic use in swine production in 2020 has slightly decreased compared to 2019 (102.9 tonnes). In that year, 76.1% of pig farms used antibiotics.

The high use of colistin and zinc oxide in pigs is a cause for concern. According to Amcra data, 23.5% of pig farms use colistin, although this is down slightly from the 26.2% from the year prior.

As for zinc oxide, 9.3% of all farms still used this compound in 2020, 3% less than in 2019.

- Amcra (Belgium)