A new joint report by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), published on Tuesday 26 February, confirms the increase in antibiotic resistance already observed in previous years.
In particular, the nearly 300-page document reveals that antimicrobials used to treat diseases that can be transmitted between animals and humans, such as campylobacteriosis and salmonellosis, are losing their effectiveness. According to the report, which refers to 2017 data, fluoroquinolone resistance is very high in campylobacteria in some Member States, so these antimicrobials are no longer effective in treating severe cases of campylobacteriosis. Most countries have reported that salmonella in humans is increasingly resistant to fluoroquinolones.
“The time has come to reverse the trend in antimicrobial resistance if we want antibiotics to remain effective”, said Mike Catchpole, ECDC's Chief Scientist. “This is particularly worrying with regard to combined resistance: even small proportions mean that thousands of patients across the EU have limited treatment options for serious infections”.
The Joint Report presents data collected from humans, pigs and calves under one year of age in the 28 Member States of the European Union. The report is available for consultation at: https://bit.ly/2IBNDJX. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)