Antimicrobials are medicines that kill or inactivate small disease-causing organisms, including bacteria. After being exposed to these medicines, microbes can undergo changes that stop them being killed or inactivated by the treatments. This is known as antimicrobial resistance.
The Agency is concerned about the development of antimicrobial resistance, particularly resistance to antibiotics. A well-known example of a bacterium that is resistant to a number of antibiotics is meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which has caused infections that are difficult to treat across the European Union (EU).
Antimicrobials can also lead to antimicrobial resistance in animals. This can lead to infections that are difficult to treat. Resistance can also spread to humans through the food chain or direct contact.
The role of the Agency
The European Medicines Agency works in collaboration with its EU and international partners in a number of initiatives aiming to limit the development of resistance, and monitor and evaluate the risks to human and animal health.
A major such initiative is the Transatlantic Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance (TATFAR) [Trans Atlantic Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance – TATFAR], which was established following the European Union-United States summit in November 2009. The Task Force aims to increase levels of communication, co-ordination and co-operation between the EU and the United States on human and veterinary antimicrobials.
Human health
In human medicine, the availability of medicines to treat infections with resistant organisms has become a major problem in recent years.
In September 2009, the Agency published a joint report with European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the international network Action on Antibiotic Resistance. This report highlights the gap between infections due to resistant bacteria and the development of new antibiotics.
* See the report [http://www.ema.europa.eu/docs/en_GB/document_library/Report/2009/11/WC500008770.pdf] and press release
Animal health
In animal health, the Agency is focussed on promoting the prudent use of antimicrobials, to limit the development of resistance. This goal is addressed in the Committee for Medicinal Products for Veterinary Use's (CVMP's) five-year strategy on microbials.
The CVMP has also published a large number of documents on microbial resistance in animals and its risks for humans. For more information, see the regulatory information and scientific guidance on antimicrobial resistance.
Since early 2010, the Agency has been leading a project collecting information on how veterinary antimicrobials are used across the EU. For more information, see the European Surveillance of Veterinary Antimicrobial Consumption (ESVAC) project.
Transmission of resistance from animals to humans
[European Medicines Agency - European Surveillance of Veterinary Antimicrobial Consumption - European Surveillance of Veterinary Antimicrobial Consumption (ESVAC)]
In 2009, the Agency published two reports together with other European bodies on the risk of animicrobial resistance spreading from animals to humans:
* In June 2009, it published a joint scientific report together with ECDC and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on the risks of the transmission of MRSA, emphasising the need for the prudent use of antibiotics in animals. See the joint report and press release;
* In November 2009, it published a joint scientific opinion together with ECDC, EFSA and the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) focussing on strategies to deal with the transmission of resistant bacteria such as Salmonella and Campylobacter . See the joint opinion and press release.
European Medicines Agency - Antimicrobial resistance - Antimicrobial resistance
► Transatlantic Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance (TATFAR)
Trans Atlantic Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance – TATFAR
Trans Atlantic Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance – TATFAR
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