83(1) pg 215
Given the risks associated with antimicrobial resistance and its link with antimicrobial use,available data on antimicrobial use in the Belgian pig, broiler and veal calf production werecompared. Allowing for comparison of the data available from three peer-reviewed scientificarticles, the unit of measurement for antimicrobial use was the Treatment Incidence (TI), definedas the number of animals per 1000 treated daily with one ‘defined’ (DDDA) or ‘used daily doseanimal’ (UDDA). Moreover, extrapolation of farm-level data to national-level data was attemptedaccording to the European Surveillance of Veterinary Antimicrobial Consumption (ESVAC)methodology, to estimate the amount of antimicrobials used in Belgium per species. Although,among the three species, the highest TI was observed in veal calves (TIDDDA=414, TIUDDA=379),based on the extrapolation, it was estimated that most antimicrobials were administered topigs (159.4 tons). Thus, the most rapid decline in the total use could potentially be achieved bytargeting the pig sector. During the process of data collection for comparison and calculation, itbecame obvious that there is a need for harmonized monitoring programs.