Campaign for stricter use of antibiotics expected

TIGHTER control of use of antibiotics in humans and farm animals is likely — driven by the government of Denmark, which has pledged to campaign against antimicrobial resistance as a priority when it takes over the EU presidency next January.

The Danish Ministers for the Interior, Health, and Food also want to introduce a common European surveillance programme for antibiotic consumption. They will focus on antibiotics which are essential for the treatment of serious human infections.

Food Minister Henrik Høegh said: “In Denmark, we have taken various initiatives in order to limit the use of antibiotics. One of the 2010 initiatives for reducing the use of antimicrobials in animals is the introduction of a yellow card issued to pig producers with a relatively high level of antibiotics consumption.”

Denmark may seek EU-wide adoption of its elaborate data collection on animals and veterinary issues, which enables authorities to pinpoint antimicrobial usage right down to the individual cow, or a group of pigs.

The country’s total antibiotic consumption in food-producing animals has been reduced by almost 40% from the mid-1990s, without compromising animal health.

Denmark’s stance on antibiotics is strengthened by recent publication of the first joint EU report on antimicrobial resistance in zoonotic bacteria in animals and food which can compromise treatment of infectious diseases in humans.

The report, based on 2009 data submitted by 25 member states, showed that a high proportion of Campylobacter bacteria in humans is resistant to a critically important antibiotic, ciprofloxacin. In animals, a high or moderate proportion of Salmonella (in chickens), Campylobacter and non-disease-causing E coli was also found to be resistant to this antibiotic.

A low proportion of salmonella in humans and in animals was found to be resistant to third generation cephalosporins, also critically important in human medicine. The report indicates that many member states lag behind Denmark, which for example did not detect ciprofloxacin resistance in Campylobacter jejuni in meat from broilers in 2009.

Ireland and Poland reported resistance levels of 18% and 21%, respectively, other reporting member states’ levels ranged from 38% to 84% (in Slovenia).

Danish Minister for the Interior and Health, Bertel Haarder, said: “Denmark has a low consumption of antibiotics and a limited development of resistance. Globally, including in the EU, the consumption of antibiotics for both humans and animals is expanding, and also in Denmark we experience complex problems with antimicrobial resistance. Since food and feed trade is international, and we travel more and more, resistance problems are not limited by borders. Therefore antimicrobial resistance is a common problem that we must combat internationally and within the EU”.