Comparison of the sales of veterinary antibacterial agents between 10 European countries

To compare the sales of veterinary antibacterial agents between 10 European countries. Data were compiled from published reports from the 10 countries. We express the usage as amounts sold of veterinary antibacterial agents per country and year, in mg active substances per kg biomass of slaughtered pigs, poultry and cattle plus estimated biomass of (live) dairy cattle for the corresponding year. The usage, as expressed in mg antibacterial drugs sold/kg biomass of slaughtered pigs, poultry and cattle and of (live) dairy cattle, varied from 18 to 188 mg/kg. The relative proportion of the various classes of antibacterial agents sold varied considerably. The apparent wide variations in the usage of veterinary antimicrobial agents between countries cannot be explained by differences in the animal species demographics alone. Further in-depth analyses are required to identify the factors underlying the observed differences.