USPOULTRY report shows improvements in antibiotic stewardship and commitment to disease prevention within poultry production.
December 10, 2024
Updated research, supported by the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY), was released Dec. 9 quantifying the U.S. poultry industry’s on-farm antibiotic use. The updated report shows continued improvements in antibiotic stewardship and a commitment to disease prevention within poultry production.
As part of its commitment to the transparency and sustainability of a safe food supply, the poultry industry aims to strike a balance between the responsible use of antibiotics “medically important” to human health and keeping poultry flocks healthy, according to a news release from USPOULTRY.
Under the research direction of Dr. Randall Singer of Mindwalk Consulting Group LLC and a professor of epidemiology at the College of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Minnesota’s Department of Veterinary & Biomedical Sciences, this report represents an 11-year set of data collected from 2013 to 2023 for U.S. broiler chickens and turkeys and represents an eight-year set of data collected from 2016 to 2023 for layers. A prior report covering 2013-2022 was released in December 2023. In addition, Singer published three peer-reviewed manuscripts in 2023 covering the data collected from broiler chickens, turkeys and layers.
Given several key differences among broiler chickens, turkeys and layers – namely differences in weight, lifespan, susceptibility to lifetime illness, the number of effective medical treatments available, etc. – these data should neither be combined nor compared between types of poultry, the news release cautioned.
The key changes noted between 2013 and 2023 for broiler chickens, turkeys and layer chickens are detailed below:
Key changes among broiler chickens over the 2013-2023 period
Broiler chickens receiving antibiotics in the hatchery decreased from 90% (2013) to less than 1% (2023).
Medically important in-feed antibiotic use in broiler chickens decreased substantially, with no in-feed tetracycline use since 2019, while virginiamycin use decreased about 99% over the 11-year period.
Medically important water-soluble antibiotic use in broiler chickens decreased substantially from 2013 to 2017 and has increased slightly from 2017 to 2023. Increases were typically due to increased disease incidence, as seen in other countries as well, during the 2019-2023 period, including:
Penicillin use decreased by 64% from 2013 to 2019 but increased 60% from 2019 to 2023 due to increases in gangrenous dermatitis incidence; overall, penicillin use decreased 42% from 2013 to 2023.
Lincomycin use decreased by 66% from 2013 to 2020 but increased 11% from 2020 to 2023 due to increases in gangrenous dermatitis incidence; overall, lincomycin use decreased 62% from 2013 to 2023.
Tetracycline use has decreased by 70% since 2013.
Sulfonamide use has decreased by 82% since 2013.
Key changes among turkeys over the 2013-2023 period:
Turkeys receiving antibiotics in the hatchery decreased from 97% in 2013 to approximately 40% in 2023.
Hatchery gentamicin use decreased approximately 48% from 2013 to 2023.
Medically important in-feed antibiotic use in turkeys decreased substantially, with in-feed tetracycline use decreasing more than 58% over the 11-year period.
Medically important water-soluble antibiotic use in turkeys decreased substantially from 2013 to 2019 and then stabilized or increased from 2019 to 2023. Increases were typically due to increased disease incidence, as seen in other countries as well, during the 2019-2023 period:
Penicillin use has decreased by almost 53% since 2013.
Lincomycin use decreased by 58% from 2013 to 2019 but then increased substantially from 2020 to 2023 due to increases in gangrenous dermatitis incidence and a shortage of penicillin.
Neomycin use has decreased 53% since 2013.
Tetracycline use decreased 19% overall from 2013 to 2023, but there was an increase from 2019 to 2023, largely due to increases in colibacillosis and secondary infections following avian metapneumovirus exposure.
Key findings among layer chickens over the 2016-2023 period:
Layer chickens (hens) typically begin laying eggs around 20 weeks of age and end when the layer hen is around 80 to 100 weeks of age.
Table egg production is similar to milk production, where the product for human consumption is produced on a daily basis. Most antibiotics that could be administered to layer hens have withdrawal periods that would prevent all eggs produced during this period from entering the food supply. This is one reason why little antibiotic treatment is used in table egg production in the U.S.
All chicks in the dataset received gentamicin in the hatchery (day 1 of age).
In the U.S., the majority of chicks purchased by egg companies are sourced from hatcheries that are owned and operated by genetics companies.
The primary medically important antibiotic used in layer hens for treatment and control of disease in this dataset was chlortetracycline (CTC), which is used in part because it has a zero-day withdrawal, meaning there is no loss of eggs during the treatment period.
CTC was only administered via the feed in pullets (day 2 through 16-18 weeks of age) and layer hens.
The majority (more than 95%) of CTC was used in layer hens for treatment of disease, and no pullets in the dataset were given CTC in feed during 2022 or 2023.
Less than 0.1% of total hen-days were exposed to CTC.
USPOULTRY said in the news release it will continue to support Singer in the annual collection of data from the broiler chicken, turkey and layer industries. These efforts will assist the poultry industry as it aims to improve antibiotic stewardship and will also document the burden of flock illness and reasons for on-farm, medically important antibiotic usage.
This project is funded with multiple annual grants from USPOULTRY and benefits from the support of the National Chicken Council, National Turkey Federation and United Egg Producers, as well as the voluntary participation of U.S. layer, broiler chicken and turkey companies. The project was also partly supported from 2016 to 2023 under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Beginning in September 2024, a new cooperative agreement between FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine and Singer was initiated, thus continuing the public/private partnership for this effort.
“USPOULTRY’s board of directors has supported this research for many years, which emphasizes the continued focus on the judicious use of antibiotics in the poultry industry. We are thankful for the long-term involvement of so many of our members and other poultry organizations in this study,” USPOULTRY president Nath Morris said.
Details of the study can be found at https://mindwalkconsultinggroup.com/.
USPOULTRY is a nonprofit organization that progressively serves its poultry and egg members through research, education, communications and technical services. It is committed in part to the advancement of research and education in poultry science and technology, to be responsive to and effective in the changing needs of the poultry industry, to increase the availability and constant improvement of the quality and safety of poultry products and to promote responsible practices in animal care and environmental stewardship.
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