EU urges world to fight dangerous antibiotic abuse, misuse

A European Union (EU) delegation on health and food safety on Monday urged the world to work together to fight antibiotic resistance (AMR), saying the overuse and misuse of antibiotics has led to very serious consequences and will become more serious.

“It is very important that we have international cooperation on this issue,” Jérôme Lepeintre, a member of the EU delegation to China, told reporters at a press conference in Beijing.

AMR refers to the development of microorganisms or bacteria over time that eventually become resistant to antibiotics.

Data provided by Lepeintre shows that about 25,000 deaths a year in Europe are attributed to the misuse of or resistance to antibiotics, which generates losses worth 1.5 billion euros ($1.73 billion) a year.

Lepeintre predicts that by 2050, this could become a very serious global health problem, which could be more serious than cancer if current infection and resistance trends are not reversed.

“We forecast that the number of deaths due to antimicrobial resistance in 2050 will be about 10 million across the world, with economic losses estimated at $100 trillion by 2050,” he noted.

In 2001, the World Health Organization adopted a global strategy to contain AMR, and worked on resolutions from the World Health Assembly dating back to 1984.

The EU implemented several measures against antibiotic resistance in 2011, and the European Commission (EC) adopted the new EU One Health Action Plan against antimicrobial resistance in June 2017, building on the achievements of a previous action plan, feedback received on an EC Roadmap on AMR and public consultations.

In dealing with the AMR process, the plan includes three main aspects, Lepeintre said.

“The first is to make Europe a region of best practices. Second, we need to address AMR research and development and innovation. And third, we need to shape the global response to AMR, we need to strengthen international cooperation.”