December 1, 2008

The New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) has published a report providing an update of antibiotic sales figures from 2005-2007.

According to the NZFSA, total sales of prescription veterinary medicines containing antibiotics in 2006/07 have decreased to levels similar to the 2002/03 year, and are down 11.9 percent on 2005/06 sales.

Registrants of prescription veterinary medicines containing antibiotics are required to provide an annual summary of sales to NZFSA as a condition of registration. The NZFSA then uses this information to look for trends in sales and to help in the development of risk management policy.

NZFSA Director Agricultural Chemicals and Veterinary Medicines, Debbie Morris said that the sales information provides a snapshot of registered veterinary antibiotics of interest. However, the data presented over a 5-year period shows no trends that would indicate antibiotics are not being used as intended.

Most of the fluctuation in sales over the last 3 years has been driven by sales of zinc bacitracin, which still represents 36 percent of all antibiotic by weight, 94 percent of antibiotic usage in the pig and poultry category, and 93 percent of in-feed and water usage. Zinc bacitracin is an antibiotic that has been in use since the 1940s and is approved for animal use in many countries.

Increased sales or use cannot be interpreted as increased prescribing frequency without considering changes to the animal populations, Morris added. Large variations in sales are most likely to occur with products that are used in small quantities to manage disease outbreaks. Any changes that might represent a significant alteration have been highlighted in the report.

Morris said that while the latest report does not show any trends of concern, the information is still very useful. In gathering this data, NZFSA is in a unique position to be able to see the big picture of antibiotic use across the sectors.