Antimicrobial resistance in common foodborne bacteria continues to be a major public health concern in the EU, according to a report published on Wednesday 18 February by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
The bacteria Salmonella and Campylobacter, which cause foodborne infections, continue to show high levels of resistance to several commonly used antibiotics, both in humans and farm animals.
A high proportion of these bacteria are resistant to ciprofloxacin, an important antibiotic for treating serious infections in humans. Resistance to this molecule has increased in recent years in human Salmonella infections.
In the case of Campylobacter, resistance is now so widespread in Europe that ciprofloxacin is no longer recommended for the treatment of human infections, while its veterinary use is restricted. High levels of resistance have been observed for other antibiotics, such as ampicillin, tetracyclines and sulphonamides.
The report points to the increasing detection of carbapenemase-producing E. coli bacteria in food-producing animals and meat, a development that is worrying experts. Carbapenems are last-resort antibiotics in human medicine.
However, progress has been made in several countries. Salmonella resistance to ampicillin and tetracyclines has fallen sharply in humans over the last decade. A reduction in resistance to tetracyclines has been observed in poultry. For Campylobacter, resistance to erythromycin has declined in several Member States. Details: https://aeur.eu/f/ksa (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)