European Surveillance of Veterinary Antimicrobial Consumption (ESVAC)

The European Surveillance of Veterinary Antimicrobial Consumption (ESVAC) project collects information on how antimicrobial medicines are used in animals across the European Union (EU). This type of information is essential to identify possible risk factors that could lead to the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance in animals.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) started this project in April 2010, following a request from the European Commission to develop a harmonised approach for the collection and reporting of data on the use of antimicrobial agents in animals from EU and European Economic Area (EEA) Member States.

Voluntary participation in the ESVAC project has increased since 2010 from 9 to 31 countries.

The interactive ESVAC database allows users to access a summary of the specific ESVAC data they are interested in, including data for a specific country or sales of a particular antimicrobial class.

Users can use the database to customise charts, maps and graphs.

Access the database directly via the button below:

The annual ESVAC report presents sales data on veterinary antibiotics collected from the 31 countries of the ESVAC network. It also highlights key changes and trends over time.

Scientists, veterinarians and other animal healthcare professionals, risk assessors and policy makers in Member States use the results of the annual report as a reference for antimicrobial policies and for guidance on the responsible use of antimicrobials.

ESVAC report 2018 The latest ESVAC report, published in October 2020, shows that sales of antibiotics for use in animals in Europe fell by more than 34% between 2011 and 2018: Sales of veterinary antimicrobial agents in 31 European countries in 2018 Of particular importance, the veterinary sales of antibiotics considered critically important in human medicine present a decreasing trend. Between 2011 and 2018, sales have reduced by: 24% for third and fourth generation cephalosporins; 70% for polymyxins; 4% for fluoroquinolones; 74% for other quinolones.  The situation across Europe remains contrasting. Out of the 25 countries that provided data covering 2011-2018, 18 countries observed a decline in sales of veterinary antibiotics overall sales have dropped by more than 5%. However, 5 countries recorded an increase of more than 5% and two other countries noted a minor decrease (below 2%) in overall sales. The substantial decline in some countries indicate that there is also a potential for a decrease in other countries.

An overview of country-specific trends in the sales of veterinary antibiotics between 2010 and 2018 is available in the country reports below.

Each one of the 31 countries has provided information corresponding to their data, and each section presents changes of sales by antimicrobial class, along with a brief summary and discussion of the data. 

Country reports on sales trends (2010-2018)

Austria   Belgium Bulgaria   Croatia   Cyprus   Czechia   Denmark   Estonia

Finland   France   Germany   Greece   Hungary   Iceland   Ireland   Italy

Latvia   Lithuania   Luxembourg   Malta   Netherlands   Norway   Poland   Portugal

Romania   Slovakia   Slovenia   Spain   Sweden   Switzerland   United Kingdom

In the context of the Regulation (EU) 2019/6 and its future delegated and implementing acts, the Agency together with experts from the ESVAC network have outset development of a guideline on reporting of antimicrobial sales and use in animals at the EU level. The proposed guideline shall provide standards for quantifying antimicrobial consumption in animals as per requirements of Article 57 of Regulation (EU) 2019/6.

In July 2018, EMA launched a project for stratifying sales data of veterinary antimicrobials by animal species. This enables an approximate estimation of consumption by different species, by allocating a proportion of the total sales to each species a veterinary antimicrobial is used in.

EMA has published a protocol for collecting sales data for stratification:

• Stratification of sales data of antimicrobials by species - Data collection protocol 2017

The protocol is based on ongoing experience with a pilot project with six volunteer Member States that has been testing this methodology and possible approaches to be used in EU/EEA Member States.

To obtain standardised data, participating countries provide their sales data of veterinary antimicrobials and animal population data based on a data reporting protocol and data collection form, which are available below. EMA processes the data according to the protocol.

The protocol outlines the:

• data submission requirements;
• instructions for data quality confirmation;
• conversion factors EMA uses when processing the data.

The reporting forms and protocols that had been in use in previous years are available for reference below.

The amounts of veterinary antimicrobial agents sold are linked to the animal demographics in each country. In order to normalise the sales data for the animal population that can be subjected to treatment with antimicrobial agents, a population correction unit (PCU) is used in the ESVAC as a proxy for the size of the animal population. The way the PCU is calculated can be seen in Appendix 2 of the first ESVAC report.

To enable a more detailed analysis of trends in antimicrobial consumption, ESVAC is preparing a system for the collection of harmonised and standardised data on consumption by animal species.

As a first step, EMA has established standardised units of measurement for reporting antimicrobial consumption in specific animal species, called the 'defined daily dose' and 'defined course dose' for animals. For more information, see:

• Standardised units of measurement for veterinary antimicrobials

In February 2018, EMA published guidance on reporting antimicrobial consumption data by animal species and an updated questions-and-answers document (Q&A) clarifying the rationale for certain recommendations, taking into account comments received during public consultation:

• Guidance on collection and provision of national data on antimicrobial use by animal species/categories
• Q&As for the guidance on collection and provision of national data on antimicrobial use by animal species/categories
• Overview of comments received on draft 'Guidance on provision of data on antimicrobial use by animal species from national data collection systems'

On 26 April 2017, the European Commission organised a workshop with EMA on data collection on consumption of veterinary antimicrobials in Europe. There was general consensus among stakeholders on the need to collect data on antimicrobial use by animal species, and on the benefits of such data collection. For more information see the European Commission website.

EMA has developed an ESVAC strategy for 2016-2020. The strategy takes into account stakeholder feedback provided during public consultation:

• ESVAC vision and strategy 2016-2020
• Overview of comments received on ESVAC vision and strategy 2016-2020
• Draft ESVAC vision and strategy 2016-2020

During the next five years, ESVAC will continue collecting and publishing overall sales data from as many EU and EEA countries as possible.

The strategy aims to enable the analysis of European-level trends in antimicrobial consumption per animal species, using data that is standardised between countries.

EMA will bring together the best European expertise for harmonising data collection and analysis methodologies. It will provide guidance on the collection of data per species, with a specific focus on the three major food-producing ones: pigs, cattle and broilers (poultry).

The Agency holds meetings on monitoring the consumption of veterinary antimicrobial agents in Europe, bringing together representatives of Member States and other stakeholders:

• ESVAC stakeholders meeting (02/03/2016)
• ESVAC stakeholders meeting (03/03/2015)
• ESVAC workshop on testing of system for data collection by species (09/02/2015)
• ESVAC stakeholders meeting (05/02/2014)
• ESVAC stakeholders meeting (18/03/2013)
• ESVAC annual network meeting 2012 (14-15/02/2012)
• Report from the Workshop on collection of data on antimicrobial agents by species and on unit(s) of measurement (13-14/10/2011)
• Meeting with stakeholders on monitoring sales of veterinary antimicrobial agents in Europe (28/09/2010)
• Meeting on monitoring of sales of veterinary antimicrobial agents in Europe (25/11/2009)