Ottawa—The use of antimicrobials to treat animals rose between 2019 and 2021 after years of slowing down toward optimal levels to prevent the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in humans, says a new report from the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH).

There was a 2 per cent increase in antimicrobial use in animals during that period after several consecutive years of significant decrease, says the report released in early May at the 9th Meeting of the Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) held in Sweden.

Jakob Forssmed, Minister for Social Affairs and Public Health of Sweden, said the need for urgent action to reduce antimicrobial use to prevent the further spread of AMR has never been more evident. “Robust surveillance systems are critical to support informed decision-making that will enable the implementation of cost-effective AMR interventions under a One Health approach.”

Antimicrobials are critical medicines whose effectiveness must be preserved for the treatment, control and prevention of infectious diseases in animals, humans and plants, he said. “Resistance to these medicines has become a major concern, as it endangers everyone’s health. Economic reports already project a potential loss of 1.8 years of life expectancy worldwide by 2035 due to AMR.”

Although AMR is a natural phenomenon, it can be greatly accelerated by the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials across sectors. Efficient monitoring systems are essential to inform decisions targeting the responsible use of antimicrobials, he said.

WOAH has been tracking the use of antimicrobials in animals since 2015 as a key component of its strategy to limit the emergence of AMR. Its global database called ANIMUSE (ANImal antiMicrobial USE) facilitates access to the available information and has contributed to the tripling of the number of countries with a surveillance system in place over the last decade.

Dr Monique Eloit, WOAH Director General, said the animal health sector plays a pivotal role in the efforts to curb AMR by promoting more responsible use of antimicrobials. It needs adequate financial support to accelerate the response to this still growing threat.

Preventive actions to treat animal diseases should be prioritized, she said. When available, vaccines can be robust allies to prevent diseases that could otherwise lead to the use of antimicrobials. Animal health vaccines received little funding support between 2017 to 2024 “highlighting the need to enhance research, development and implementation of innovative tools in animal health,” she said.

While significant progress has been made in phasing out the use of antimicrobials in healthy animals to boost growth promotion, it is still allowed by almost 20 per cent of WOAH’s member countries. “More worryingly, at least 11 per cent still use one or more of the highest priority critically important antimicrobials for human medicine, such as colistin, as growth promoters.”

WOAH will continue to encourage restricting the use of antimicrobials solely to veterinary medical use and to actively push for a total ban on the use of antimicrobials as growth promoters, starting with those that are critically important for human health.

“In light of the recent data, collective efforts must be redoubled to safeguard the health and well-being of current and future generations by preserving the efficacy of antimicrobials.” WOAH said. “Everyone’s health is at stake.”

This news story was prepared for National Newswatch