Journal watch29 April 2021

Antibiotic usage in veterinary practice

Small animalsExoticsFarm animalsEquine

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Responsible use of antibiotics in veterinary practice

3. Antibiotic usage in veterinary practice Published 29 April 2021 | Updated 13 May 2025 Data on antibiotic usage in animals in the UK has primarily been sourced from the Veterinary Antimicrobial Resistance and Sales Surveillance (VARSS) reports published by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate. However, as many antibiotics are authorised for use in multiple animal species, it is not possible to determine from sales data how much is used per species. More recently ‘big data’ projects such as SAVSNET and VetCompass have been able to provide additional data on antibiotic usage in companion animals.

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Luethy, D. et. al. (2025) Antimicrobial administration practices in hospitalized periparturient goats: a multicenter study. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 39 (2), no. e70005. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.70005
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Martin, M. et al. (2025) Quantification of antimicrobial use on Irish dairy farms: A comparison of three recording methods. Journal of Dairy Science, 108 (2), pp. 1790-1806. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2024-24688
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Cassel, S. et al. (2024) Antimicrobial prescription practices and stewardship in Washington State small and mixed animal veterinary medicine. Zoonoses and Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1111/zph.13187
Gunn-Sandell, L. , Taylor, D.D. and Scallan Walter, E. (2024) Veterinary support staff knowledge and perceptions of antimicrobial drug use, resistance, and stewardship in the United States. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2024.1401290
Martin, H. et al. (2024) Quantification of antimicrobial use on Irish dairy farms: A comparison of three recording methods. Journal of Dairy Science, https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2024-24688
Loeffler, A. et al. (2023) Intervention with impact: Reduced isolation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius from dogs following the introduction of antimicrobial prescribing legislation in Germany. Veterinary Record, e3714. https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.3714
Weese, J.S. et al. (2023) Antimicrobial use practices in canine and feline dental procedures performed in primary care veterinary practices in the United States. PLOS ONE, 18 (12), e0295070. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0295070
Fins, I.S. et al. (2023) A mixed-methods approach utilising electronic health records to examine antimicrobial prescription surrounding gastrointestinal clinical presentations in dogs and cats. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 10. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2023.1166114
Firth, C.L. et al. (2023) Comparison of metrics to assess antibiotic use in small ruminants at a university referral clinic between 2005 and 2019. Veterinary Record, no. e3413. https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.3413
Dame-Korevaar, A. et al. (2025) Quantification of antibiotic usage against Streptococcus suis in weaner pigs in the Netherlands between 2017 and 2021 Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 235. 106400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2024.106400
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Strang, C. et al. (2023) Assessing antibiotic usage data capture accuracy on dairy farms in England and Wales. Veterinary Record, no. e3505. https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.3505
Hsieh, E.S. et al (2021) Serial point‐prevalence surveys to estimate antibiotic use in a small animal veterinary teaching hospital, November 2018 to October 2019. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.16314
Bennani, H. et al (2021) Evaluating integrated surveillance for antimicrobial use and resistance in England: a qualitative study. Frontiers in veterinary science, 8, p. 1271. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2021.743857
Veterinary Medicines Directorate (2024) UK Veterinary Antimicrobial Resistance and Sales Surveillance (VARSS) Report 2023
Veterinary Medicines Directorate (2016) Understanding the mg/PCU calculation used for antibiotic monitoring in food-producing animals
European Surveillance of Veterinary Antimicrobial Consumption (ESVAC)
Analysis of antimicrobial consumption and resistance (‘JIACRA’ reports)
Schrag, N.F.D.et al. (2022) Improving farm-level antimicrobial stewardship benchmarks by reporting antimicrobial use within the context of both the magnitude of disease pressure and the outcome of therapy. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 9, no. 1022557. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2022.1022557
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Waret-Szkuta, A. et al (2019) How input parameters and calculation rules influence on-farm antimicrobial use indicators in animals. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 6, p. 438. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2019.00438
Van Boeckel, T.P. et al (2015) Global trends in antimicrobial use in food animals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112 (18), pp. 5649-5654. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1503141112
Tiseo, K. et al (2020) Global trends in antimicrobial use in food animals from 2017 to 2030. Antibiotics, 9 (12), no. 918. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9120918
Rees, G.M. et al (2021) Measuring antimicrobial use on dairy farms: a method comparison cohort study. Journal of Dairy Science, 104 (4), pp. 4715-4726. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2020-18690.
Craig, A.L., Buijs, S. and Morrison, S. (2020) Evaluation of veterinary antimicrobial benchmarking systems at farm‐level in Europe: implications for the UK ruminant sector. Veterinary Record, 187 (10), p. 402. https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.105727
Hyde, R.M. et al (2017) Quantitative analysis of antimicrobial use on British dairy farms. Veterinary Record, 181 (25), p. 683. https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.104614
Humphry, R.W. (2021) Estimating antimicrobial usage based on sales to beef and dairy farms from UK veterinary practices. Veterinary Record. https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.28
Davies, P. et al (2017) Quantitative analysis of antibiotic usage in British sheep flocks. Veterinary Record, 181 (19), p. 511. https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.104501
O’Neill, L. et al (2020) Quantification, description and international comparison of antimicrobial use on Irish pig farms. Porcine Health Management, 6, no. 30. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40813-020-00166-y
Moura, P. et al. (2022) Use of a new antimicrobial consumption monitoring system (Vet-AMNet): Application to Dutch dairy sector over a 9-year period. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 9, no. 984771. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2022.984771
Mateus, A. et al (2011) Antimicrobial usage in dogs and cats in first opinion veterinary practices in the UK. Journal of Small Animal Practice, 52 (10), pp.515-521. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-5827.2011.01098.x
Buckland, E.L. et al (2016) Characterisation of antimicrobial usage in cats and dogs attending UK primary care companion animal veterinary practices. Veterinary Record, 179 (19), p. 489. https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.103830
Radford, A.D. et al (2011) Antibacterial prescribing patterns in small animal veterinary practice identified via SAVSNET: the small animal veterinary surveillance network. Veterinary Record, 169 (12), p. 310. https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.d5062
Del Solar Bravo, R.E. et al. (2023) Antibiotic therapy in dogs and cats in general practise in the United Kingdom before referral. Journal of Small Animal Practice. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsap.13615
Singleton, D.A. et al (2017) Patterns of antimicrobial agent prescription in a sentinel population of canine and feline veterinary practices in the United Kingdom. The Veterinary Journal, 224, pp.18-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2017.03.010
Hardefeldt, L.Y. et al (2018) Population wide assessment of antimicrobial use in dogs and cats using a novel data source–a cohort study using pet insurance data. Veterinary Microbiology, 225, pp. 34-39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetmic.2018.09.010
Glavind, A-S. et al. (2022) Monitoring antimicrobial usage in companion animals: exploring the use of the Danish VetStat database. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica, 6, no. 27. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13028-022-00647-w
Weese, J.S. et al. (2022) Estimation of defined daily doses of antimicrobials for dogs and cats treated for bacterial cystitis. Canadian Veterinary Journal, 63 (8), pp. 851-854.
Tallon, R.E., Whitt, B. and Bladon, B. (2023) Antibiotic usage in 14 equine practices over a 10‐year period (2012–2021). Equine Veterinary Journal. https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.13988
Wilson, A. et al. (2022) Antimicrobial prescribing and antimicrobial resistance surveillance in equine practice. Equine Veterinary Journal. https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.13587
Mair, T.S. and Parkin, T.D. (2022) Audit of antimicrobial use in eleven equine practices over a five-year period (2014–2018). Equine Veterinary Education, 34 (8), pp. 404-408. https://doi.org/10.1111/eve.13438