Published on 11/18/2020
1 min read
In 2019, the French bought 772 tons of antibiotics, against 728 tons in 2018. Despite this rising figure, the consumption of antibiotics has stabilized for a decade, and has even started a slow decline for three years, as The National Medicines Safety Agency (Ansm) specifies it. Antibiotics for animal health are down sharply over one year (422 tonnes in 2019, compared to 471 a year earlier).
Unveiled by Santé Publique France on the occasion of the European Antibiotics Information Day, this report shows that more antibiotics were sold in 2019 than a year earlier. But in relation to the evolution of the population, consumption has fallen significantly over the past three years. The overall consumption of antibiotics in cities fell from 23.5 doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day in 2018 to 23.3 doses in 2019. The drop is even more significant over ten years, from 2009 to 2019 from 25.2 at 23.3 doses per 1,000 people per day (-7.4%).
The number of antibiotic prescriptions in patients aged 16 to 65 without long-term illness follows the same pattern with a significant drop over one year, or -2.9 prescriptions per 100 patients compared to 2018. An identical finding is observed for the prescriptions of antibiotics which generate a particularly important antibiotic resistance. This is reassuring news when we know that antibiotic resistance is responsible for nearly 5,500 deaths per year in France, and around 700,000 worldwide.
The report also reveals that 422 tonnes of antibiotics intended for animal health were sold in France in 2019, compared to 471 tonnes in 2018, of which 96% were administered to animals intended for human consumption. Animal exposure to antibiotics has even fallen by 36.5% in 5 years, well beyond the 25% target set by the first Ecoantibio 2012-2016 plan.
“The 10.9% decrease in antibiotic exposure observed between 2018 and 2019 shows that even if the targets for reducing the use of antibiotics set by the Ecoantibio plans have been achieved, animal health players are continuing their efforts for the prudent and responsible use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine, ”conclude the authors of the report.