Antibiotic Use in Horses: Analysis of 57 German Veterinary Practices (2018-2023)

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Medicine
• Pharmacology
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Mandatory antibiotic use monitoring in horses in the European Union begins in 2027.
• A study was conducted to explore the implementation of a monitoring system for antibiotic use in horses in Germany.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an overview of antibiotic consumption in horses in Germany.
• To assess the feasibility of using routine practice data for monitoring antibiotic use.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 225,622 consultations from 57 German veterinary practices (2018-2023).
• Inclusion of horse data, diagnoses, and treatment information, specifically recording antibiotic administration.
• Free-text diagnoses were categorized into 20 groups.

Main Results:

• Antibiotics were administered in approximately 7% of consultations, with significant practice-level variations.
• Sulfonamides/trimethoprim and aminopenicillins were the most frequently used antibiotic classes.
• Ophthalmology cases showed the highest frequency of antibiotic treatment; horses on antibiotics required more follow-up visits.

Conclusions:

• Routine practice data are valuable for insights into equine antibiotic use, despite limitations like incomplete entries.
• The data collection method is cost-effective, enables large-scale monitoring, and supports continuous evaluation.
• This system can assess the impact of new EU regulations and guide antibiotic stewardship in equine practice.