EU launches new antimicrobial resistance action plan

A new action plan to address antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been announced by the European Commission (EC).

Sergei Gapon, FAO
Sergei Gapon, FAO

A new action plan to address antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been announced by the European Commission (EC).

Building on the first Action Plan that ran from 2011 to 2016, the latest aims to put Europe at the forefront on AMR by demonstrating best practice in tackling the issue, stimulating innovation and R&D, and shaping the global agenda.

AMR is a serious and increasing threat to global public and animal health, with direct impacts resulting from the failure of treatments for infectious diseases and leading to the death of an estimated 25,000 people in the European Union (EU) and 700,000 worldwide each year, according to the EC.

Within the EU, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), has led the work on developing best practice on AMR.

“Scientific evidence has shown that human health and animal health are interconnected,” said Jaana Husu-Kallio, Chair of EFSA’s Management Board. “EFSA experts will continue to support the global fight against antimicrobial resistance by investigating the role of food and food-producing animals in transmitting antimicrobial resistance.”

AMR study in pigs and calves in Europe

Earlier this year, a report on certain bacteria in the EU found that levels of resistance, while varying significantly between countries, were described as “generally high.”

Part of One Health surveillance and monitoring, the full report, jointly published by EFSA and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), presented data collected in 2015 on AMR in selected bacteria – non-typhoidal Salmonella, Campylobacter coli, C. jejuni and E.coli - from humans, food, fattening pigs and calves under one year old.

Highlights of this report include the continued monitoring of the spread of certain highly resistant Salmonella serovars. Two serovars in particular, S. Typhimurium and monophasic S. Typhimurium, contribute signi ficantly to the overall numbers of multidrug-resistant Salmonella in Europe. Only one S. Typhimurium isolate from calves under one year of age displayed high-level resistance to ciprofloxacin, while microbiological resistance was low in Salmonella spp. from pig meat (4.3 percent), from bovine meat (2.5 percent) and from fattening pigs (4.7 percent), important from a public health perspective because ciprofloxacin is a common first-line treatment for invasive salmonel losis in humans.

Highlights of this report include the continued monitoring of the spread of certain highly resistant Salmonella serovars. Two serovars in particular, S. Typhimurium and monophasic S. Typhimurium, contribute signi ficantly to the overall numbers of multidrug-resistant Salmonella in Europe. Only one S. Typhimurium isolate from calves under one year of age displayed high-level resistance to ciprofloxacin, while microbiological resistance was low in Salmonella spp. from pig meat (4.3 percent), from bovine meat (2.5 percent) and from fattening pigs (4.7 percent), important from a public health perspective because ciprofloxacin is a common first-line treatment for invasive salmonel losis in humans.

Highlights of this report include the continued monitoring of the spread of certain highly resistant Salmonella serovars. Two serovars in particular, S. Typhimurium and monophasic S. Typhimurium, contribute signi ficantly to the overall numbers of multidrug-resistant Salmonella in Europe. Only one S. Typhimurium isolate from calves under one year of age displayed high-level resistance to ciprofloxacin, while microbiological resistance was low in Salmonella spp. from pig meat (4.3 percent), from bovine meat (2.5 percent) and from fattening pigs (4.7 percent), important from a public health perspective because ciprofloxacin is a common first-line treatment for invasive salmonel losis in humans.

Among the key findings revealed was that the overall high level of multi-drug resistance of Salmonella found in Europe could be traced mainly to two serovars, namely S. Typhimurium and monophasic S. Typhimurium. With salmonellosis the second most commonly reported foodborne disease in the EU, the high level of resistance in some of the causal bacteria is cause for concern. However, the study also found microbiological resistance to ciprofloxacin – a first-line treatment to invasive salmonellosis infections in humans - was low in Salmonella species in fattening pigs (4.7 percent), pig meat (4.3 percent), and beef (2.5 percent).

For Salmonella, levels of resistance ranged from moderate to extremely high to tetracyclines and sulfonamides in fattening pigs, and generally lower in calves. Salmonella from pigs were less resistant to ciprofloxacin and nalidixic acid than those isolated in calves. There was no evidence of resistance to carbapenems in Salmonella from either species.

Turning to Campylobacter, 14 percent of C. coli isolates from pigs were found to be multidrug-resistant. Fewer countries contributed data for this part of the study and, as for Salmonella, the overall figures cover wide variation between states.

Finally, for E. coli, the highest level of resistance was to tetracycline in isolates from fattening pigs (55 percent) and calves (46 percent). Multidrug resistance was observed in 38 percent of samples from fattening pigs and 29 percent from calves.

Resistance to colistin, a drug of last resort for treating bacterial infections, was found to the low in the EFSA/ECDC study.

Because of its importance, particular efforts are being made to reduce greatly the use of colistin in food animal production. In the U.K., the Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture Alliance (RUMA) has reported recently that the use of colistin in British pig production, already way below the EU recommended upper limit, decreased by a further 70 percent during 2016. 

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