The European Commission published, on Friday 10 July, an overview report on the monitoring of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in zoonotic and commensal bacteria in the EU between 2023 and 2026.
Based on audits carried out in nine Member States and a questionnaire sent to the EU27, as well as Norway and Iceland, the document points to progress in the harmonisation of methods, laboratory quality and the transmission of data to EFSA.
However, the Commission highlights several persistent difficulties: shortcomings in sampling at border control posts, a lack of isolates available for certain bacteria such as Salmonella, reporting errors and delays linked to administrative constraints or staff shortages.
The Commission is calling on Member States to strengthen the representativeness of samples, automate data validation and further harmonise laboratory practices.
Among the positive developments, 16 countries have introduced additional monitoring programmes and 11 are already using genomic sequencing to improve the tracking of resistance. At the same time, the EU is pursuing its actions, notably with the 2023 Council recommendation aimed at a 50% reduction in sales of veterinary antibiotics by 2030 and the EU-JAMRAI 2 programme (European Joint Action on Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare-Associated Infections), which has a budget of €62.5 million.
Link to the report: https://aeur.eu/f/mum (LC)