Antibiotic use in animals and humans in Australia

To the Editor: The recent perspective on antibiotic use in animals and humans in Australia1 provides an overview based on sales of antibiotics for livestock during the period 2005–2010. Unfortunately, these are the most recent data available, an important limitation that the authors highlight.

Here, I provide details of significant initiatives implemented within the Australian livestock industries since 2010. Indeed, a perspective article published in the MJA in 20122 described the low level of antimicrobial resistance in bacterial isolates from food animals and food products together with work on updating prescribing guidelines and developments in infection control.

A comprehensive summary of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) activities in the pork, poultry, red meat and dairy industries published in 20183 describes the five Rs approach to AMS: taking responsibility for every decision to use antibiotics, reviewing current and ongoing antibiotic use, and reduction, refinement and replacement of antibiotics. A critical element of AMS in livestock practice is focused on removing the need for antibiotics by ensuring that there are biosecurity measures (bio‐exclusion, biocontainment, and individual animal resilience) operating to minimise the presence of pathogens and increase the immunocompetence of animals. Vaccination is a key component of AMS and new vaccine development is an ongoing area of research, with many examples of disease reduction and decreased antibiotic use following the introduction of vaccines.4

The use of antibiotics in livestock in Australia was assessed in the recent global review of antimicrobial resistance,5 and among the 29 countries included in the review, Australia ranked fifth, well below Denmark, a country considered the benchmark for antibiotic use. In addition to the quantity of use, significant attention is paid in Australia to the quality of use of antibiotics, as highlighted in a recent prescribing guideline.6

The absence of current data on antibiotic use remains an important limitation that must be reversed. Nevertheless, there are a multitude of AMS activities being actively implemented which will ensure, as reported in the 2018 article,2 that “Australia's food supply is one of the safest and cleanest in the world”.