Upcoming changes in the use of antibiotics in the European Union

The new EU-level regulation on veterinary medicinal products (6/2019) regulates and tightens the practice of using antimicrobial veterinary medicinal products. These are significant changes, especially in the area of antibiotic use. The subsequent implementing legislation, which is currently in the process of being drafted, is now still under discussion at European Parliament and Council level.

The new legislation is a tool to combat the increasing antibiotic resistance of micro-organisms in human and veterinary medicine. Implementing documents and further steps are being prepared for this year and will cover a wide range of rules on the use of antibiotics. Legislation and its implementation will be rolled out continuously from this year.

The use of the ClearMilk test in on-farm diagnostics with the option of detailed identification of cultured bacterial strains (MALDI TOF), and especially the detection of antibiotic sensitivity/resistance of the mastitis pathogens by our in-house laboratory, will help dairy farmers to get a good grip on the whole issue.