Europeans still too casual with antibiotics, study finds

A joint study by three European agencies has called for doctors, veterinary surgeons and farmers in Europe to be more restrained in their use of antimicrobial drugs.

The study was published by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the European Medicines Agency and the European Food Safety Authority on 27 July. It found evidence for a link between antimicrobial use and resistance in humans, animals or both for three classes of the drugs: cephalosporins, quinolones and tetracyclines.

It concluded that this finding should be used to “promote responsible use of antimicrobials in both humans and animals", by all involved. “These results confirm the need to ensure prudent use of antimicrobials and thereby [reduce] unnecessary consumption of antimicrobials in food-producing animals and in humans,” the report said.