European regulations on prevention use of antimicrobials from january 2022

Over the past several years significant progress on achieving better antibiotic stewardship in the veterinary sector has been achieved through regulatory legislations both in the USA and the European Union, including the implementation of US FDA GL 209 and 213. The EU is now taking measures to phase out the routine use of antibiotics for disease prevention, reserving prophylactic use for exceptional circumstances. This article intends to add some clarifications regarding antibiotics for disease prevention that are embedded in two EU regulations which came into force on 28th January 2022, Regulation (EU) 2019/4 on Medicated Feed and Regulation (EU) 2019/6 on Veterinary Medicinal Products.