By William Dotinga

Courthouse News

June 25, 2012

(CN) – EU legislators expressed concern about the rising threat of antibiotic and antimicrobial resistance in human and animal populations, calling the situation “a growing European and global health problem.”

In a six-page document released Friday, the Council of the European Union called on member states to develop and implement national strategies or action plans for countering antimicrobial resistance (AMR), primarily through the reduced use of antibiotics and antimicrobial agents. The plan also orders European countries to enforce laws prohibiting the illegal sale of antibiotics, limit the use of critically important antimicrobials to acute illnesses and to curtail the use of the drugs as preventative measures.

“The Council of the European Union recognizes that the development of AMR is accelerated by excessive and inappropriate use of antimicrobial agents which, together with poor hygiene or poor infection control practices, creates favorable conditions for the development, spread and persistence of resistant microorganisms in both humans and animals,” the council said, also underlining the need for making all antimicrobial agents available by prescription only.

Read the full text here.