Poor response encourages antibiotic resistance
The European Commission has warned that a sluggish response by EU member states to guidelines issued in 2001 urging a prudent use of antimicrobials in human medicines is increasing the risk of resistance building to such drugs.
The European Commission has warned that a sluggish response by EU member states to guidelines issued in 2001 urging a prudent use of antimicrobials in human medicines is increasing the risk of resistance building to such drugs.
In a report1, Brussels is dismayed that some antibiotics are still sold over the counter: 'All countries should have clear measures in place to enforce prescription-only use of systemic antimicrobials or antibiotics,' it said.
Furthermore guidance on using prescribed medicines was still lacking: 'All countries should have nationally accepted guidelines in place recommending appropriate antibiotic treatment, at least for the most common human infections,' said the paper.
Overall, the Commission concluded: 'There remain numerous areas of the Recommendation (the guidelines) where only limited action has been undertaken.' Other problems included a failure to develop national action plans to deal with antimicrobial resistance, although the report did not name specific countries with the most failings.