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

Results: 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. Conclusions: 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.