Total sales of veterinary and horticultural antibiotics in New Zealand have been down for a sixth year, and the number of antibiotics considered critical for human health has almost halved in the past year.
"Antibiotics are essential for treating bacterial infections in humans, animals, and plants. But they must be used responsibly to prevent antimicrobial resistance (AMR)," said New Zealand Food Safety acting deputy-director general Jenny Bishop.
"AMR happens when germs develop the ability to resist the medicines designed to kill them. The World Health Organization has identified AMR as one of the top ten global health threats facing humanity. So, it’s vital we ensure our current antibiotics can continue to be used.”
These results, released in the latest Antibiotic Agricultural Compound Sales Analysis, are clear signs that antibiotics have been used more carefully.
"They are a direct result of the concerted effort by veterinarians, farmers, industry and New Zealand Food Safety to ensure these life-saving medicines are used appropriately so they stay effective."
The latest report evaluated 15 classes of antibiotics sold during 2023 for use for farm animals, pets, and horticulture. This sales data was a proxy for measuring use.
Antibiotics sold for animal use were distributed among 24 million sheep, ten million cattle, 124 million poultry, 600,000 pigs, 148,000 horses, two million household pets, and many other species.
The report showed that sales for the five classes of antibiotics considered critical for human health decreased by 46 percent to 3,416kg from 6,285kg in 2022. Total sales decreased for the sixth year, dropping 3.6 percent from 41,033kg in 2022.
"Since a 2017 peak of 71,361kg, total antibiotic sales have dropped to 39,549kg in 2023. That’s an impressive 45 percent decrease.”
Besides tracking sales for their valuable insights, New Zealand Food Safety is doing other important work to help decrease AMR.
"We’re currently reviewing our regulatory oversight of antibiotics used in plants and animals. This could lead to a further reduction in antibiotic use, as controls for some antibiotics might be tightened.
This has involved reassessing hundreds of antibiotic products, divided into four tranches. Tranche one has been completed and tranche two is underway.
"We also work closely with the Ministry of Health (MoH) and international regulators in an effort to manage AMR.”
In 2017, MoH, New Zealand Food Safety, and representatives from the human health, animal health, and agriculture sectors jointly developed the New Zealand Antimicrobial Resistance Action Plan.
This month, the New Zealand Plant and Animal Sectors’ AMR Implementation Plan, which will underpin the national initiative, was also published.
"Our plan includes activities to mitigate AMR, the expected outcomes of each activity, the organisation responsible for each activity, and the activities’ deliverables and timeframes. We’re all in this together, so New Zealand Food Safety will keep pushing to curb antimicrobial resistance.
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