Sales of veterinary antimicrobials in food-producing animal species in Finland remained low although it increased slightly in 2019. Majority, almost two thirds, of all antimicrobial products are given to individual animals, and products intended for group treatment accounted for just over a third. Injectable penicillin is still the most commonly used antimicrobial. The next most common agents are orally administered tetracyclines and orally administered sulfonamide-trimethoprim combination, both of which saw a clear increase in sales last year. Sales of reserve antimicrobials (HPCIA, WHO list) for the treatment of animals remained very low also in 2019.
The antimicrobial resistance situation in bacteria from animals and food has remained relatively good in Finland. However, in certain bacterial species resistance was detected in moderate or high levels. Therefore, there is a need to further emphasise the preventive measures and prudent use of antimicrobials. It is important to follow the Finnish recommendations for the use of antimicrobials in animals.
Among salmonella and campylobacter from Finnish food-producing animals, resistance levels were mainly low. For the first time in Finland, multidrug resistant monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium was isolated from a few cattle and pig farms in 2019. From 2014 onwards, the occurrence of fluoroquinolone and tetracycline resistant campylobacter from broilers have varied. No significant changes have been observed in the occurrence of resistant indicator E. coli from pigs except for tetracycline resistance which has decreased since
2013. The resistance situation among pathogenic bacteria isolated from food-producing animals was similar as in previous year. Resistant isolates are still detected most commonly among enterotoxigenic E. coli from pigs.
The proportion of resistant bacterial isolates from companion animals and horses decreased for nearly all antimicrobials. However, resistance against some antimicrobials increased for certain bacterial species.
The prevalence of ESBL/AmpC-producing bacteria in slaughtered pigs as well as in pork and beef was low or non-existent
