Antimicrobial agents, such as antibiotics, have dramatically reduced the number of deaths from previously widespread and frequently fatal infectious diseases. However, notably due to the inappropriate use of antibiotics in human medicine, these gains are now jeopardized with the emergence and spread of resistant microbes. This leads to failure to respond to treatment and greater risk of death.
To address this threat the Commission elaborated a Community strategy against antimicrobial resistance. The Council Recommendation on the prudent use of antimicrobial agents in human medicine is a component of this strategy requesting EU countries to put in place specific national strategies promoting the prudent use of antimicrobial agents. It also requires the Commission to report on its implementation.
Initiatives: Council recommendation 2002/77/EC on the prudent use of antimicrobial agents in human medicine 
and 2nd report from the Commission on the implementation of the Council recommendationAll available translations.
More on prudent use of antibiotics:
With the world in urgent need of new antibiotics to fight a growing range of potentially life-threatening illnesses, a ground-breaking European research project has uncovered a hidden source of antibiotics
Responding to cross-border health threats was the recurring theme of the Council Meeting on Health on 22 June 2012
As a way to contribute to this important initiative, ECDC launched the third and last wave of data collection for the ECDC point prevalence survey of healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial use in European acute care hospitals
EPHA’s briefing describes the causes of AMR; evaluates what is being done at an EU and international level; and explores some of challenges faced today by public health
The Danish EU Presidency invited ECDC to join a European conference on antimicrobial resistance.
The conference will aim to address the challenges of antimicrobial resistance.
Antimicrobial resistance is not a new problem but one that is becoming more dangerous; urgent and consolidated efforts are needed to avoid regressing to the pre-antibiotic era.
European Antibiotic Awareness Day 2010 was launched in the European parliament on 16 November 2010. A dedicated website is now online with information for the general public, general practionners and hospitals available in all EU Member States languages.
Meeting organised by the Belgian Presidency of the EU. A three-day meeting of experts (plenary session and 4 workshops) to discuss various issues such as national hand cleanliness campaigns, quality indicators with regard to antibiotics policy and infection control, point prevalence studies (PPS) on hospital infections and the use of antibiotics in hospitals, residential homes and care homes.
The Swedish Presidency hosted an expert conference about the antibiotic resistance threat on 17 September 2009 in Stockholm. The aim of the conference was to explore ways of creating incentives for the development of new drugs. Such incentives could be changes in the regulatory mechanisms, innovative financial instruments or other innovative mechanisms.
Ministerial Conference organised by the Czech Presidency of the EU. Antibiotics are losing their clinical effectiveness at a pace that was unforeseen even five years ago. The emergence and spread of bacteria resistant to antibiotics seriously impacts morbidity, mortality, length of hospital stay, and costs for hospitals are increasing. It also represents a severe limitation to modern patient care (e.g. organ transplantation, cancer treatment, intensive care, even surgery), which would not be possible without effective antibiotics.
European Antibiotic Awareness Day is a European health initiative in close collaboration with the World Health Organization, as well as many other relevant representative stakeholder groups such as health professionals and scientists.
With the world in urgent need of new antibiotics to fight a growing range of potentially life-threatening illnesses, a ground-breaking European research project has uncovered a hidden source of antibiotics
Responding to cross-border health threats was the recurring theme of the Council Meeting on Health on 22 June 2012
As a way to contribute to this important initiative, ECDC launched the third and last wave of data collection for the ECDC point prevalence survey of healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial use in European acute care hospitals
EPHA’s briefing describes the causes of AMR; evaluates what is being done at an EU and international level; and explores some of challenges faced today by public health
The Danish EU Presidency invited ECDC to join a European conference on antimicrobial resistance.
The Danish Presidency is aiming for the Council to conclude on common EU measures for combating antimicrobial resistance.
Every year more than 25,000 European citizens die from infections caused by bacteria that have developed resistance towards antimicrobials.
Ben Hirschler and Kate Kelland won 1st prize for their article on antimicrobial resistance. "When the drugs don't work", published by Reuters.
Read the frequently asked questions about antimicrobial resistance published by WHO.
This year, a new video produced by Euronews in collaboration with ECDC features real life examples of the experiences of patients affected by resistant bacteria.
On the occasion of the 4th European Antibiotic Awareness Day, ECDC releases new European-wide surveillance data on antibiotic resistance from the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (EARS-Net).
Resistance to antibiotics in livestock and pets has become a huge issue in recent years. To cope with this growing problem and the consequent treatment failures, Parliament issued a call on Thursday for more research and better monitoring of the effects of antimicrobials on food-producing animals and pets.
Antimicrobial resistance was the focus of World Health Day 2011, 7 April. On this occasion, ECDC Director Marc Sprenger presented the ‘Situation update on antibiotic resistance’ to the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
This year's World Health Day focuses on the growing threat of potentially deadly bacteria developing resistance to antimicrobial drugs - especially to antibiotics. The Commission joins the World Health Organisation in calling for strengthened efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance, which is a global health hazard.
The health of people in Europe is threatened by a growing phenomenon: bacteria that cause common and life-threatening infections are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics – the medicines used to treat them.
Today, modern health care depends on antimicrobial drugs to prevent and treat infections. Antimicrobial resistance threatens the health care sector’s ability to control infections efficiently.
Infectious agents are becoming increasingly resistant to medicines and not enough new drugs are being developed to combat such resistance.
European Antibiotic Awareness Day is marked annually on 18 November. In 2010 the focus of the day is to promote prudent antibiotic use in hospitals.
The public consultation provides an opportunity for the public to put their views on the EU/US Transatlantic Taskforce on Antimicrobial Resistance to the Commission. Period of consultation: From 17.11.2010 to 17.12.2010
On the occasion of the European Antibiotic Awareness Day, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control is releasing new European-wide surveillance data on antibiotic resistance. With annually up to 400,000 patients reported to suffer from infections resistant to multiple antibiotics, the data show that antibiotic resistance remains a public health problem across the European Union.
In this edition of the WHO Bulletin, Professor John Conly argues that the overuse and misuse of antibiotics leading to antimicrobial resistance, the theme of World Health Day 2011, is a significant threat.
This book, commissioned by the Swedish Government from the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, analyses many proposed policies and incentive mechanisms and sheds light on the key issues that will help policy-makers reach informed, concrete decisions on how to avert this potential public health crisis.
Antibiotics are a bedrock of modern medicine. But in the very near future, we're going to have to learn to live without them once again. And it's going to get nasty.
Director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Zsuzsanna Jakab, addressed an EU Conference hosted by the Czech EU Presidency on "The microbial threat to patient safety in Europe". In her speech, she stressed that the frequency and the way we use antibiotics is the most important single determinant of antibiotic resistance, and that infection control is paramount for the prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections and the spread of resistant microorganisms.
In November 2001 the Council adopted a Recommendation on the prudent use of antimicrobial agents in human medicine (2002/77/EC), hereinafter referred to as the Recommendation. This Recommendation asks Member States and EEA countries to put in place specific strategies for the prudent use of antimicrobial agents with a view to containing antimicrobial resistance.
Today, the Commission publishes two reports which demonstrate the need for further progress in the European Union on the issue of anti microbial resistance. The first is a pan-European survey which reveals some worrying trends in public attitudes towards the use of antibiotics. The results indicate that citizens need more information on the correct use of antibiotics, even though 37% of respondents remember having received information on not overusing antibiotics in the last 12 months. The second document is a progress report, adopted today, on the 2002 Council Recommendation on the prudent use of antibiotics. The report shows that good progress has been made in several areas.
In 2001 the European Commission presented a 'Community strategy against Antimicrobial Resistance'. In previous years, the problem was addressed through an increasing number of isolated measures, but in this strategy the Commission outlined a comprehensive European Community approach across all sectors.
The European Commission presents today a staff working paper that aims to be the basis of discussion on the ways to better tackle the growing health problem of anti-microbial resistance (AMR). Each year about 25,000 patients die in the EU from infections caused by micro-organisms that have developed resistance to antimicrobial medicines. It is also estimated that every year AMR costs 1.5 billion euros in healthcare expenses and productivity losses.
Video from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
Video from the European Centre of Disease Prevention and Control
Video from the European Centre of Disease Prevention and Control
Androullla Vassiliou launches the first European Antibiotic Awareness Day. This event is designed to raise awareness about the risks associated with inappropriate use of antibiotics and to provide information on the responsible use of antibiotics.
David Livermore is in a race against evolution. In his north London lab, he holds up an evil-smelling culture plate smeared with bacteria. This creamyyellow growth is the enemy: a new strain of germs resistant to the most powerful antibiotics yet devised by humankind.
In Sweden, the risk of being contaminated with bacteria resistant to most forms of antibiotics has so far been low, in comparison with the situation in many other countries. But with increasing use of antibiotics, more and more families of bacteria are resistant to the very thing that has saved so many lives over the past sixty years.
Earlier this year, in May, a genetic mutation in the Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacterium made it resistant to antimicrobial treatment and caused panic all over Europe: shoppers steered clear of Spanish cucumbers and extreme panic led some people cut all vegetables from their diet.
Antimicrobial resistance is a growing source of misery but there is no incentive to develop new antibiotics.
This article on antibiotic resistance handles an abstract and, for many Swedes, a still unknown subject, in an exemplary manner.
This article raises very important issues on the use of antibiotics as a first choice medicine.
