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Data collected by AHDB using the electronic Medicine Book (eMB) show that antibiotic usage in UK pigs last year was 85 mg/PCU (milligrams per population correction unit) – an increase on the 2022 figure of 72 mg/PCU, but lower than the 87 mg/PCU recorded in 2021, indicating that the trend is still downwards.
With the 69% reduction over the nine-year period, it was expected that a nadir may be reached, and a slight increase was expected – particularly if there were disease challenges on farms. What happens next year may give a better indication of whether the nadir has been reached, or if further reductions are possible without compromising animal welfare.
Disease in pigs, as corroborated by other data, such as the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) diagnostics statistics and notifications through the AHDB Significant Diseases Charter, was a challenge in some farms in 2023. The eMB data, which represents approximately 96% of pigs slaughtered in the UK, show increases in antibiotic classes that are used to treat the diseases shown to have greater prevalence in the APHA data.
October 22, 2024/ AHDB/ United Kingdom.
https://ahdb.org.uk
