Action plan calls for immediate reduction of antibiotic use in humans and animals globally

Today, at a meeting at the Royal Society with the HRH Prince of Wales, representatives from over 20 countries will consider the immediate actions different nations can take to address the urgent, cross-border problem of antibiotic resistance.

At the meeting, the Director of the Wellcome Trust, Dr Jeremy Farrar, will discuss a new action plan to reduce the overuse and misuse of antibiotics, which has led to bugs developing resistance to the drugs which are meant to destroy them.

If the current situation is left to continue, it is estimated that by 2050 the world will face an additional 10 million deaths due to drug resistant infections.

The action plan Dr Farrar will set out was agreed at a summit of world-leading scientists and policy makers from over 30 countries held at the Wellcome Trust in April.

The action plan concludes that the problem of resistance is caused not just by misuse of antibiotics in human healthcare, but also by food producers.

Dr Farrar will recommend that the action plan should be taken into consideration at the UN General Assembly meeting on drug resistant infections in September.

The three areas for immediate action are:

• Reduce antibiotic use in agriculture, without compromising the food system’s capacity to meet increasing global demand
• Develop better local understanding of antibiotic use and resistance levels, in human and animal medicine
• Optimise antibiotic use in public health and food production systems

Dr Jeremy Farrar, Director of the Wellcome Trust, said: “Drug resistant infections do not recognise boundaries, either between people and animals or between countries, and so our response must also transcend the usual divisions that separate healthcare and farming, and national governments.”

He added: “We know that people are dying today all over the world because infections we were once able to treat are now beating the best antibiotics we have available. The problem is not something we can put off any longer, countries must act now to safeguard both the lives of their citizens and the livestock people rely on for food and income.”

“Simple measures can have a big impact. For example, reducing the massive overuse of antibiotics can be tackled by phasing out the use of antibiotics for growth promotion in agriculture and minimising over-the-counter access to antibiotics.”