A new National Pig Antimicrobial Usage Database has been introduced in November 2019 to record the usage of antibiotics in commercial Irish pig herds. Prior to this, the sales data of antimicrobials for use in pigs has been included in the annual report published by the Health Products Regulatory Authority. This sales data is at a national level, and it is not possible to directly extrapolate figures for the pig industry.
The Pig AMU database is designed to collect farm level data on a quarterly basis, feed back reports to farmers to inform them of their level of antimicrobial use, and allow farmers to benchmark themselves against their peers. Data received by the AMU database for pigs so far indicates that the most widely used antibiotics in pigs are the older classes of antibiotics, with much lower amounts of other antibiotics regarded as Highest Priority Critically Important antibiotics for human health being used.
At this point in time, antibiotic use data has been received from 121 herds of interest out of approximately 350 who are required to submit data. The data received so far is encouraging in that it demonstrates a relatively low level of antibiotic use in many herds with a national average of 96mg/kg for 2019.
This figure is likely to change as we receive more data but it does highlight the value in having a figure for the level of antibiotic use in Irish pigs.
Measuring antimicrobial use is a pivotal part of the national effort to reduce overall use, and promote responsible use where necessary. Quantifying antimicrobial usage also allows us to measure the impact of the reduction strategies being implemented, demonstrate national trends, inform policy decisions, and enhance best practice. Development of this Pig AMU database is part of a range of measures that have been commenced and implemented as part of Ireland's National Action Plan for Antimicrobial Resistance 2017-2020 (iNAP) Animal Health Sector Implementation Committee action plan. My Department together with the Department of Health launched Irelands first ‘One Health’ national action plan, iNAP, to address the challenge of antimicrobial resistance in human health, animal health and the environment. The launch of the iNAP Animal Health Implementation Committee in January 2018 has played a pivotal role in facilitating multidisciplinary collaborative efforts across key stakeholders in the animal health sector to tackle AMR.
Currently, there are 54 actions in the implementation plan for the animal health and environment sector. Actions or measures that have been taken to reduce the use of antibiotics in the pig sector include raising knowledge and awareness of AMR amongst pig farmers, farm advisors and veterinary practitioners through conferences, discussion groups , online campaigns, articles in print media. A set of guidelines on the responsible use of antibiotics in the pig industry were developed collaboratively by the IFA, Veterinary Ireland and Teagasc under the stewardship of the Animal and Plant Health Association, these guidelines provide practical tools and strategies for pig farmers to reduce the use of antibiotics. There is national surveillance of AMR in zoonotic and commensal bacteria in pigs carried out in accordance with EU legislation and the findings of this surveillance are shared with industry in order to drive behavioural change around the use of antibiotics.
New EU Regulations which will apply from January 2022 will aim to reduce the amount of antibiotics being used in all sectors of agriculture in the context of the global fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to protect human health. A research project funded by DAFM and carried out by Teagasc (AMURAP) covered one third of the Irish sow population and quantified the level of antimicrobial usage (AMU) in the pig industry between 2016-2018 and is currently looking at the levels of AMR present on those farms monitored in the study to try and correlate AMU to AMR. A previous research project, PathSurvPig looked the incidence of respiratory disease on pig farms and what interventions are necessary to improve overall animal health and thereby reduce the need to use antibiotics. The findings of this project were shared directly with pig farmers and the farms involved in this research had very significant reductions in antibiotic use. One of the farmers participating in the research project won an award at EU level, and was highlighted as an example of best practice. My department continues to fund research that focuses on disease prevention and other ways of reducing the overall usage of antibiotics in the pig sector as we continue to adopt a One Health approach. The overall goal of iNAP is to reduce the use of antibiotics in both the human and animal health sectors and thereby address the public health threat of AMR.
A previous research project, PathSurvPig looked the incidence of respiratory disease on pig farms and what interventions are necessary to improve overall animal health and thereby reduce the need to use antibiotics. The findings of this project were shared directly with pig farmers and the farms involved in this research had very significant reductions in antibiotic use. One of the farmers participating in the research project won an award at EU level, and was highlighted as an example of best practice. My department continues to fund research that focuses on disease prevention and other ways of reducing the overall usage of antibiotics in the pig sector as we continue to adopt a One Health approach. The overall goal of iNAP is to reduce the use of antibiotics in both the human and animal health sectors and thereby address the public health threat of AMR.
