Brussels, 15/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 15 November, the European Commission pointed out how important it is to fight against drug-resistant bacteria, a phenomenon recognised since the nineties as being a serious threat to public health, at a time when some European countries are undergoing an upsurge in the resistance to certain bacteria. On the European Antibiotic Awareness Day 2013, on 18 November, Health Commissioner Tonio Borg announced that the European Union would step up its fight against drug-resistant bacteria, saying: “I am deeply concerned about the fact that antibiotics, which have allowed us to treat previously deadly bacterial infections and save many lives, are now becoming less and less effective. I cannot stress enough how seriously the Commission takes the challenge posed by antimicrobial resistance. The Commission remains fully committed to pursuing its Action Plan to address antimicrobial resistance both in people and in animals in a co-ordinated manner”. The commissioner for research and innovation, Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, highlighted the importance of research to reduce drug-resistant bacteria and welcomed projects conducted on this, especially by small and medium-sized companies, with the help of the European Union. “These new projects will add to the excellent work ongoing to develop new drugs and treatment”, she said.
The results of a Eurobarometer study published today by the Commission to update 2009 data reveals that there has been a decline in the use of antibiotics in humans since 2009 and a growing awareness within the public that antibiotics do not eliminate viruses. However, this positive news is overshadowed by data released in parallel by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) showing a marked increase in Europe of multi-drug resistant gram-negative bacteria resistant to the carbapenems - last-line antibiotics used to treat healthcare associated infections. In order to combat this increase, the Commission has announced that it will finance 15 new research projects, costing €91 million, with the participation of 44 small and medium-sized enterprises, universities and other research bodies. The projects will aim at perfecting new antimicrobial products or alternative solutions such as phages or vaccines. They will also deal with the problem of resistance to antibiotics within the food chain and will take an interest in nanotechnologies likely to provide anti-microbial medicines. The Commission has also recently published harmonised rules on the collection of data on anti-microbial resistance linked to animals and food. These rules are essential for allowing data to be compared between member states both in human and veterinary medicine, and for assessing measures applied, the Commission stresses.
The action plan implemented by the Commission in 2011 to combat resistance to antibiotics is the most recent link in a series of measures adopted in recent years by the Commission with a view to overcoming this threat. The action plan, which defines seven priority areas of action, has made considerable progress, Borg is pleased to state. The European Union has also invested €800 million in research into antimicrobial resistance, mainly in the context of the innovative medicines initiative (IMI). Finally, the Commission has begun the last stage of the review on the legal framework applicable to veterinary medicines and medicated animal feed, which will take into account drug-resistance in these areas. (IL/transl.jl)