The critical role of farm disinfection to curb global antibiotic use and AMR

While the livestock sector is on the right track, there is potential to further reduce the use and dependency of antibiotics. Disinfection is one of the most effective and easy interventions to achieve this.

The use of antibiotics has decreased and is now lower in food-producing animals than in humans, according to the 2021 report from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). This is good news and shows that the measures taken by the European Union (EU) such as the 2001 ban on preventive use of antibiotics in farm animals, as well as the result of all efforts made in better animal nutrition, vaccination, and better farm management are proving to be effective. Since the EU ban in 2001, other regions in the world, including the United States and Asia, have been working on the curb of antibiotics in livestock production as well. The measures are focused on responsible use of antibiotics, meaning that antibiotics can still be used for treatment of diseases, as animals have the right for good treatment when they are ill, rather than using antibiotics to prevent diseases or cover up bad welfare or poor farm management practices.