Joint ECDC EFSA EMA report on antimicrobial resistance

A first joint report of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on the integrated analysis of the consumption of antimicrobial agents and occurrence of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria from humans and food-producing animals has been published.

This report explores possible associations on antimicrobial consumption and corresponding resistance in animals and humans for EU MSs and reporting countries using 2011 and 2012 data available from five relevant EU monitoring networks (EARS-Net, ESAC-Net, FWD-Net, Scientific Network for Zoonosis Monitoring Data and ESVAC) using logistic regression models for selected combinations of bacteria and antimicrobials.

When comparing the consumption of antimicrobials from humans and food-producing animals in 2012, the average consumption expressed in milligrams per kilogram of estimated biomass was 116.4 mg/kg in humans (range 56.7–175.8 mg/kg) and 144.0 mg/kg in animals (range 3.8–396.5 mg/kg). 

 Overall, a positive association was observed between antimicrobial consumption in food-producing animals and occurrence of resistance in bacteria from such animals for most of the combinations investigated. The strongest associations between consumption and resistance in food-producing animals were found for the antimicrobials studied in relation to indicator Escherichia coli. Positive associations were also noted for Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp.

The full report can be downloaded HERE