Brussels, 13/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - In a report adopted on 11 December by 588 votes in favour, 16 against and 23 abstentions, the European Parliament underlines the need to adopt immediate action to combat antimicrobial resistance. The number of bacteria resistant to antibiotics is growing exponentially, causing some 25,000 deaths each year in the European Union, Iceland and Norway. It is therefore urgent to reduce the use of antimicrobials and to adopt a new approach, MEPs say. The author of the report, Anna Rosbach (ECR, Denmark), sounds the alarm bell, saying: “If we don't take measures now, the growing resistance could threaten our ability to treat patients and could even take us back to the pre-antibiotic era”.
To reduce the threat of antimicrobial resistance, MEPs recommend a cautious use of antimicrobials for both human and veterinary health, and the adoption of guidelines. The aim is to develop a strategy that maintains the effectiveness of current drugs by using them responsibly. Doctors, pharmacists, veterinarians and farmers must receive better training and the general public should be more comprehensively informed of the harm done by using antimicrobials improperly. In order to avoid massive over-use of antimicrobials, livestock farming, aquaculture and human medicine should focus on disease prevention rather than prophylactic use. Finally, research into new antibiotics should be coordinated and benefit public-private partnerships in order to ease access to new drugs and make them more affordable, the MEPs' text states. (IL/transl.jl)