EP antimicrobial resistance report: Heading in the wrong direction according to FVE
(08.12.2012) Antibiotic resistance is a true One Health issue, and veterinarians are part of the solution as gatekeepers of antimicrobial use in animals.
While the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE) welcomes any initiative of the European Parliament that would help minimize antimicrobial resistance, it expresses its concerns regarding the report Microbial Challenge - Rising threats from Antimicrobial Resistance (2012/2041(INI)) written by Mrs. Rosbach.
In particular, FVE strongly disagrees with the amended paragraph 4a, which considers ( ) separating the right to prescribe from the right to sell antimicrobials ( ) as this has been shown by studies not to be an effective measure to reduce antimicrobial resistance.
Christophe Buhot, President of the FVE emphasises that the FVE continues to be concerned about the growing incidence of infections caused by multi-drug resistant bacteria in man and the potential contribution to the problem by resistant bacteria in animals.
Our Federation1 has taken several initiatives to contain the emergence and spread of resistant bacteria in veterinary medicine: disease prevention, promotion of responsible use of medicines, recordkeeping, and monitoring of resistance are the cornerstones of FVEs strategy.
This strategy has contributed to significant reductions in amounts of antimicrobials used in animal health, as shown for instance by the decrease in the Netherlands (50% decrease), France (30% decrease) and in the UK (according the VMD Annual Report). Veterinarians have greatly contributed to these substantial decreases.
Therefore, decoupling prescription from sales which is not supported by any impact assessment is not the right answer. There is no clear evidence from differences in amounts of antimicrobials used between countries that have and that havent decoupled2, according to the President of the FVE.
In fact, the Berenschot report3, which examined the effects of decoupling prescription and sales of veterinary medicines, concluded that this would not be effective and instead recommended strengthening the position of the veterinary practitioner as gatekeeper.
The decoupling of prescription from sales would seriously jeopardize the provision of veterinary services in rural practice throughout the EU, in particular in areas where the territorial coverage of veterinarians is poor.
Veterinary presence is already limited in some regions, leading to the additional concern that such a resolution may contribute to a reduction in the provision of veterinary services in such areas. As a result, disease surveillance and early diagnosis will be impaired, compromising the health and welfare of the animals concerned.
This resolution would also mean that farmers would have to travel long distances to collect their prescriptions as it would prevent the vet from delivering them. This would result in a serious risk of incomplete treatment, compromising the health and welfare of the animal and even increasing the risk of resistance development.