EU worries about threat posed by drug-resistant "super bugs"
Four million people in the 27 EU member states have health-care infections every year — infections attributable to drug-resistant bugs; of these, 35,000 die; health officials plan EU-wide campaign
The fllowing may read as an outline for a scary movie: Multidrug resistant “super bugs” are one of the major challenges for public health in Europe, with action required both at a national and EU-wide level, EU Health commissioner Androulla Vassiliou said Friday. “Four million people have health-care infections every year in the EU. Out of that figure, 35,000 die,” said Vassiliou during a two-day informal meeting of health ministers. “We consider antimicrobial resistance or AMR as one of the major challenges for public health.” AMR is caused by the frequent use of antibiotics and had become even “more of a health peril than road accidents,” she said, adding: “This shows us that we have to take real action.”
In most of the twenty-seven EU member states, an increase of AMR had been detected between 2001 and 2005, even if the adoption of national strategies had reversed the process in some countries. “It is necessary for all EU member states to learn from each other and to follow the good practices and adopt measures to fight AMR,” Vassiliou said. As part of an EU campaign to increase awareness about AMR and promote prudent use of antibiotics, the bloc’s health ministers agreed to declare 18 November as the European Antibiotic Awareness Day. Slovenian health minister Zofija Mazej Kukovic, hosting the meeting at Brdo pri Kranju near capital Ljubljana, said the prescribing antibiotics had become commonplace in Europe. Slovenia currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency and the informal meeting here was to prepare for a gathering of EU health ministers in Luxembourg in June.
