The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has developed standardised units of measurement to improve the accuracy of reporting antimicrobial consumption data.
As part of the European Surveillance of Veterinary Antimicrobial Consumption (ESVAC) project, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has developed standardised units of measurement for a more accurate estimate of the exposure to antimicrobials by animal species. These include defined daily doses (DDDvet) and defined course doses (DCDvet).
esvac@ema.europa.euThese units take into account the difference in dosing of antimicrobial agents and pharmaceutical forms for the various animal species.
EMA strongly recommends using the DDDvet and DCDvet values for reporting data at national level, in order to facilitate comparison of consumption between countries.
DDDvet and DCDvet are solely intended for the reporting of antimicrobial consumption data. They should not be assumed to reflect the daily and course doses recommended or prescribed, as the assigned DDDvet and DCDvet values are nearly always a compromise. Assigned DDDvet or DCDvet values are not applicable for commercial use such as pricing and analyses of drug costs.