Office Do you make good use of antibiotics to prevent them from losing efficacy?
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has released a new report on the use and abuse of antibiotics and the deaths this is causing in the European Union (EU).
This analysis estimates that
each year more than 35,000 people die from infections resistant to antimicrobials
.
The ECDC report, which examines the years 2016-2020, shows an increase compared to previous estimates and the European body points out that
the health impact of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) "is comparable to that of influenza, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS together".
"
We are seeing worrying increases in the number of deaths
attributable to infections with antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, especially those that are resistant to last-line antimicrobial treatment," says Andrea Ammon, ECDC Director.
Every day, the ECDC notes, almost 100 people die from these infections in the EU.
Therefore, they point out that "more efforts are needed to continue reducing the unnecessary use of antimicrobials, improve infection prevention and control practices, design and implement antimicrobial stewardship programs, and ensure adequate microbiological capacity at the national level."
The latest data show significantly increasing trends in the number of infections and deaths attributable to almost all combinations of bacterial and antibiotic resistance, especially in healthcare settings.
"In 2021, the number of reported cases of
Acinetobacter
species resistant to different antimicrobial groups was more than double (+121%) than the 2018-2019 average. Another example is the percentage of
Klebsiella pneumoniae
cases that are resistant to carbapenems, an antibiotic often used as a last resort, of which there was a 31% increase in 2020 and a further 20% increase in 2021," the ECDC explains in a statement, adding that these are
pathogens that are difficult to eradicate once established in sanitary settings.
"In addition, the number of reported cases of
Candida auris
nearly doubled between 2020 and 2021 and was considerably higher than in previous years. It is a fungal pathogen that causes outbreaks of invasive healthcare-associated infections and can be resistant to multiple antifungal agents. says the ECDC.
According to the report,
a 23% decrease in total human antimicrobial consumption was observed over the period 2012-2021, in the primary care and hospital sectors combined
.
"While this represents an achievement, there has been an increase in the proportion of broad-spectrum antibiotics being used, particularly in hospitals. Between 2012 and 2021 in these settings, the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics increased by 15%, the consumption of carbapenems, by 34%, and the proportion of
reserve
antibiotics , that is, antibiotics that must be reserved for the treatment of infections known or suspected to be multidrug-resistant, more than doubled in the same time period."
Reported AMR percentages varied widely between countries for various combinations of bacterial species and antimicrobial groups.
In general,
the lowest percentages of ADRs were reported by Northern European countries, and the highest by Southern and Eastern European countries
.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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