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EP resolution on antibiotic resistance

27 czerwca 2023

June 1, 2023. The European Parliament has adopted a resolution on EU action to combat antimicrobial resistance (2023/2703(RSP)).
Policy makers indicate that in July 2022. The European Commission, together with Member States, has identified AMR as one of the three most serious health threats in the EU; it is estimated that more than 35,000 people in the EU/EEA and more than 1.2 million people worldwide die each year as a direct result of infection with antibiotic-resistant bacteria; the health impact of antimicrobial resistance is comparable to that of influenza, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS combined, and trends evident in recent data show a significant increase in infections and attributed deaths for almost all combinations of bacteria and antibiotic resistance, especially in healthcare settings, where about 70% of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections were healthcare-associated infections;

„If no further action is taken, by 2050 the number of antimicrobial resistance deaths worldwide could reach more than 10 million per year, more than the expected number of deaths from cancer and diabetes combined, which could cause economic damage as catastrophic as the 2008-2009 global financial crisis.”
As much as 66% of all antibiotics are used in the animal agriculture sector. In a resolution, the European Parliament therefore called on the Commission and member states to take action to improve the health and welfare of food-producing animals in order to reduce the occurrence and spread of infectious diseases in agriculture.

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