Urgent
calls have been made for the World Health Organisation (WHO) to put antibiotic resistance on
the global agenda by Sweden, the UK and Ireland at the Sixty Sixth World Health Assembly in Geneva.
UK Chief
Medical Officer Prof Dame Sally Davies said “this is going to affect our
children and grandchildren, as well as our old age.”
Antibiotics
are becoming less effective in the treatment of illness in humans. This is due to the over-use of antibiotics
not only in human and animal health but also in agriculture and food
production.
Dr
Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
addressed the panel from the floor.
She
said “there is a disturbingly dry pipeline of new antibiotics. The time for action is now.”
Of particular
concern is the resistance of micro-organisations such as bacteria, viruses and
some parasites to antimicrobial medicines such as antibiotics.
The
side event, co-hosted by Sweden, the UK and Ireland at the Sixty-Sixth World
Health Assembly (WHA66), was an attempt to raise the profile of Antimicrobial
Resistance (AMR) to garner support and leadership from WHO.
AMR threatens a return to
a pre-antibiotic era. Drug resistant strains of diseases such as tuberculosis are
already on the increase in the UK.
Without the front line protection of antibiotics the likelihood of catching
and dying from previously treatable illnesses will also rise over the coming
decades.
Mr Goran Hagglund,
Swedish Health Minister said “the fight against antimicrobials cannot be a side
event. It has to be the main event
because if not it will simply take the attention that it needs.”
The panel called for
greater public awareness as well as higher profile action at a national and
international level.
Ensuring the appropriately
level of prescription and use of antibiotics will be part of the UK’s strategy
on antibiotic resistance, due to be launched in the summer.
Reference Information
Written Reports submitted
to the side event:
Link to WHA66 journal:
UK Strategy for
antibiotic resistance – to be launched summer 2013
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