Parliament calls restrict the use of antibiotics in livestock
The use of existing veterinary antibiotics should be limited, while the development of new products is encouraged, to combat the growing resistance of bacteria to antimicrobial drugs, according to the Parliament. In ruling on the proposed changes to Community legislation on veterinary medicines, the Chamber requested that the collective and preventive treatment of animals is prohibited, and supported boost research into new medicines.
Given the warnings of the World Health Organization that we are entering an era in which antibiotic resistance will cause more deaths each year than cancer, it’s time to crack down, attacking the problem from the root, “he said responsible for parliamentary approval of the bill, Françoise Grossetête (EPP, France).
“The fight against antibiotic resistance should begin on farms. To do this, we prohibit purely preventive use of these medications, treatments mass limit to specific cases, prevent key veterinary use of antibiotics in human medicine and end the online sale of antibiotics, vaccines and psychotropic products. In this way we are confident reduce the amount of antibiotics in circulation “he added.
MEPs believe that drugs should not, under any circumstances, serve to enhance production or compensate poor upbringing and ask that prophylactic use of antimicrobials (ie, as a preventive measure in the absence of signs of infection) is restricted to individual animals and only in cases fully justified by a veterinarian.
To address antimicrobial resistance, the amended legislation will enable the European Commission to designate drugs reserved for treatment in humans.
Innovation
In order to promote research into new antibiotics, the bet Parliament to introduce incentives, including longer periods of protection of technical documentation for new medicines, trade protection of innovative active substances, and protection of large investments in data collection to improve an existing product or to keep it on the market.
MEPs also backed a report prepared by Claudiu Ciprian Tănăsescu (S & D, Romania), which updates other legislation to improve the marketing authorization of veterinary medicines and separate it from the drug for humans.
Next steps
Both reports were approved by MEPs freehand. The plenary also agreed that the two parliamentary speakers begin negotiations with EU ministers and the Commission to reach an agreement at first reading on the proposals.
The main objectives of the draft legislation on antimicrobials are:
• increase the availability of veterinary medicines,
• reduce the administrative burden,
• stimulate competitiveness and innovation,
• improve the functioning of the internal market, and
• address the risk to public health of antimicrobial resistance.
The European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) recently warned that bacteria in humans, food and animals show increasing resistance to commonly used antibiotics. Scientists believe that resistance to ciprofloxacin, a very important in the treatment of infections in humans antimicrobial, is already very high in the case of Campylobacter, which reduces effective treatment options for serious food-borne infections. In addition, the bacterium drug-resistant salmonella continues to spread in Europe.
Source: European Parliament
