Abstract
The World Health Organization has recognized antimicrobial resistance as one of the top three threats to human health. Any use of antibiotics in animals will ultimately affect humans and vice versa. Appropriate monitoring of antimicrobial use and resistance has been repeatedly emphasized along with the need for global policies. Under the auspices of the European Union research project, EFFORT, we mapped antimicrobial use and resistance monitoring programs in ten European countries. We then compared international and European guidelines and policies. In resistance monitoring, we did not find important differences between countries. Current resistance monitoring systems are focused on food animal species (using fecal samples). They ignore companion animals. The scenario is different for monitoring antibiotics use. Recently, countries have tried to harmonize methodologies, but reporting of antimicrobial use remains voluntary. We therefore identified a need for stronger policies.
Highlights
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is recognized as one of the major global public health threats, with different reports emphasizing its economic impact [1,2], and the return to a “pre-antibiotics” era [3]
The current European policies regarding the monitoring of resistance in animals, provide specific guidelines when it comes to food producing animals
Most of the analyses to be performed are based on faecal samples, and, for example, companion animals, food and the environment are not even considered
Summary
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is recognized as one of the major global public health threats, with different reports emphasizing its economic impact [1,2], and the return to a “pre-antibiotics” era [3]. It is a perfect example of a “one health” issue, as any use of antibiotics in animals will affect humans (and vice-versa)(4–6), with an associated environmental component [7,8,9], that recognizes no national boundaries [10]. It is generally accepted that the comparison of results between countries is only possible when the results were obtained using the same (or similar/equivalent) procedures
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