Antimicrobial resistance
in animals in England and Wales: Publication of a revised strategy
for a programme of surveillance and progress in meeting the strategy
since 2004
DEPARTMENT FOR
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS News Release (News Release ref
:270/08) issued by The Government News Network on 12 August 2008
The Government
today published a revision to its strategy for developing a
comprehensive surveillance programme for antimicrobial resistance
occurring in animals for England and Wales. Antimicrobials are
chemicals such as antibiotics used in veterinary and human
medicine. It has also published a document detailing the successes
and outputs to meet the seven objectives of the strategy since 2004.
Welcoming the publication, Lord Rooker, Defra Minister for
Sustainable Food, Farming and Animal Health said:
"Revision of this strategy underlines the importance that
the Government places on obtaining all the information necessary
to enable us to tackle the development of antimicrobial resistance
effectively and share up to date information with stakeholders."
The emergence of antimicrobial resistance as a serious problem in
human and veterinary medicine has led to increasing concern about
the use of antibiotics in human medicine, veterinary medicine,
animal production, agriculture and horticulture.
The revised Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Strategy
outlines a programme of work that will further the
Government's knowledge about the mechanisms and transfer of
antimicrobial resistance, and detecting the emergence and spread
of resistant clones. The strategy also outlines requirements for
further research. This programme addresses issues identified by
the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food
(ACMSF) in its 1999 report on antimicrobial resistance.
Notes for Editors
1. The key elements of the Government's strategy to reduce
the development of antimicrobial resistance in farm animals are:
- surveillance to determine the prevalence of resistant organisms
in the animal population;
- development of guidelines to encourage the prudent use of antimicrobials;
- promote the development of livestock management systems that
reduce the use of antimicrobials;
- reviewing the dosage regimes for authorised products and
contributing to the development of European guidelines to ensure
that regimes to delay the development of resistance are put in
place for new products;
- identifying research priorities and commissioning research
projects to get a better understanding of resistance;
- ensuring that veterinary education (undergraduate and
continuous professional development) reflects the importance of
the issue; and
- promoting public awareness of issues relating to the use of
antimicrobials in animals.
2. The revised Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Strategy
reflects the key elements of the Government Strategy to reduce the
level of antimicrobials in food animals and key recommendations
made in the ACMSF Report on antimicrobial resistance. It
identifies current and proposed veterinary surveillance activities
for antimicrobial resistance, who is able to undertake the work,
the status of the programmes of work and how work might be
achieved. It will be kept under review and will develop with time
to include new and emerging information and scientific knowledge
as it becomes available.
3. The successes and outputs document, prepared as an evaluation
of the success of the strategy, details the raft of positive work
undertaken by the Government to meet the seven objectives of the
surveillance strategy.
4. A copy of the revised Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance
Strategy can be obtained from the Veterinary Medicines
Directorate's website at http://www.vmd.gov.uk.
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