Antimicrobial Resistance: A Global Awareness Week on Best Practices Is Launched

This Monday, November 16, 2015, marks the launch of the first World Week for Proper Use of Antibiotics. The goal of this initiative, led by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), is to raise awareness about the health risks associated with antibiotic resistance and to encourage the proper use of antibiotics, in order to limit the emergence and spread of resistant bacteria worldwide and to preserve the effectiveness of antimicrobials.   Antibiotics, used primarily to treat bacterial infections, are essential to human health, animal health, and animal welfare. Their excessive or inappropriate use has led to the emergence of resistant bacteria over the past few decades. However, this antimicrobial resistance dangerously undermines disease control worldwide, as well as food safety. This phenomenon has become a top priority for stakeholders in both human and animal health, as 60% of human pathogens are of animal origin. To preserve the effectiveness of these veterinary medicinal products, coordinated actions at the human-animal interface are necessary. Furthermore, everyone has a role to play, with veterinarians and physicians at the forefront, as well as policymakers, livestock producers, and animal owners. During this World Antibiotic Awareness Week, the WOAH is making numerous tools available to the public, including a dedicated website*, as well as posters (some developed jointly with the WHO and the FAO) and an infographic detailing the elements a country needs to ensure the proper use of antibiotics within its borders. These tools aim to better combat, on all fronts, the threat to global public health posed by antimicrobial resistance. From November 16 to 22, 2015, the goal is to raise awareness among the international community about the health risks associated with antimicrobial resistance. “To ensure their responsible and prudent use in animals, it is necessary to better regulate the animal production, registration, import, distribution, and use of antibiotics, and to regulate their use in animals through appropriate regulations, qualified professionals, and a well-structured veterinary profession ,” emphasizes Bernard Vallat, Director General of the WOAH. The organization has published intergovernmental standards in this area, updated in May 2015, which have been adopted by its 180 member countries. These standards** also served as the basis for developing the veterinary component of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global action plan against antimicrobial resistance. This plan proposes key actions to be implemented over the next five to ten years, including WOAH’s establishment of a global database on the use of antimicrobials in farm animals, linked to its World Animal Health Information System (WAHIS). The information collected by the national veterinary services of its member countries will make it possible to better analyze and monitor the origin of these veterinary medicinal products, obtain more reliable data on imports, track their distribution, and assess the quality of products in circulation. WOAH is convinced that it is by collectively adopting best practices for the use of antibiotics in animals—particularly through the implementation of its intergovernmental standards—that their effectiveness can be preserved in the future.   * http://www.oie.int/fr/pour-les-medias/amr-fr/ ** http://www.oie.int/fr/notre-expertise-scientifique/produits-veterinaires/antimicrobials/ You can also find and follow World Week for Proper Use of Antibiotics on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/WorldorganisationforanimalhealthOIE/?fref=ts ) and Twitter (#AntibioticResistance).