Bacteria from humans and animals continue to show resistance to antimicrobials, according to a new report published today by the European Food Safety Authority and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The report highlights some emerging issues and confirms antimicrobial resistance as one of the biggest threats to public health. AMR reduces the effectiveness of treatment options.
This report covers data on antimicrobial resistance in zoonotic and indicator bacteria in 2016, submitted by 28 EU Member States. Resistance in bacterial isolates of zoonotic Salmonella and Campylobacter from humans, animals and food, and resistance in indicator Escherichia coli as well as in meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from animals and food were addressed and analysed jointly by ECDC and EFSA.
Escherichia coli resistance to major antibiotics is increasing in almost all countries in Europe. E. coli causes urinary tract and more serious infections and is one of the most common bacteria causing infections.
The findings in the latest report on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria from ECDC and EFSA underline the serious threat AMR poses to public and animal health. Infections caused by bacteria that are resistant to antimicrobials lead to about 25 000 deaths in the EU every year.
The global rise of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) is alarming and is an increasing threat to patient safety, in Europe and globally.
In EU, only 1 in every 3 MDR TB patients has a successful treatment outcome; more than half either die, fail treatment or default (stop taking treatment). XDR TB has even worse treatment outcomes: only 1 in 4 patients finishes treatment successfully.
Multi-drug resistant Salmonella bacteria continue to spread across Europe, show the latest data on resistance in bacteria in humans, food and animals issued by ECDC and EFSA. There’s evidence of resistance to the antimicrobial colistin in Salmonella among poultry in the EU - this last-resort drug may soon no longer be effective for treating severe human infections with Salmonella.
On 24 March 2017, the German authorities reported the contamination of a ‘do-it-yourself’ bacterial gene engineering CRISPR kit produced in the US. This publication assesses the risk related to the use of ‘do-it-yourself’ CRISPR-associated gene engineering kit contaminated with pathogenic bacteria.