US Sales of Antibiotics for Livestock Climbed 16% Last Year, FDA Report Shows

By Mary Van Beusekom

Sales and distribution of medically important antimicrobial drugs used in US livestock rose 16% from 2023 to 2024 but is still 27% lower than peak sales in 2015, according to the newest report from the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Center for Veterinary Medicine.

The increase is a departure from the generally stable annual sales and distribution data reported to the FDA since 2017. For reference, last year’s report showed a 2% decline in sales.

“Sales volume may fluctuate over time in response to various factors, including changing animal health needs, changes in animal populations, and changes in animal production practices,” the news release said. “It is important to note that antimicrobial sales data do not necessarily reflect how much of the drugs are ultimately used in animals, only the volume that is sold.”

Medically important drugs are monitored because they are also used in human medicine. 

Overuse of medically important antibiotics in livestock contributes to a reservoir of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which threatens both animal and human health. This issue has been acknowledged by both US and international health organizations as a critical component of efforts to address rising rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Over two-thirds of antibiotics were tetracyclines

Sales of aminoglycoside antibiotics jumped 37% from 2023 to 2024. Tetracyclines, which make up the largest volume of domestic sales, increased 20%, followed by lincosamides (11%), and macrolides, which comprise the second-largest volume (1%). Penicillins, which represent the third-largest volume, fell 14%.

Of all antibiotics sold, 69% were tetracyclines, 8% were macrolides, 7% each were penicillins and aminoglycosides, 5% sulfonamides, 3% lincosamides, and 1% for cephalosporins, and less than 1% for fluoroquinolones.

“In terms of [medically important] drug classes, the increases were pretty widespread and all are troubling,” Steven Roach, director of the Safe & Healthy Food Program at Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT), told CIDRAP News.