Calls for Government to ban widespread use of antibiotics in farming
15 Nov 2016
The heads of 12 Royal Colleges have called for the Government to ban the routine use of antibiotics in farming.
The heads of 12 Royal Colleges have called for the Government to ban the routine use of antibiotics in farming.
In a letter to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Secretary of State for Health, the Government was urged to take a strong stand in support of parliament’s decision to ban the routine preventative mass medication of animals. The letter was signed by the President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, along with the heads of 11 other Royal Colleges, the Faculty of Public Health, the BMA, and the Lancet.
The full letter can be read below.
A shortened version of the letter was published in the daily telegraph on 14 November.
Dear Secretaries of State,
The 2016 O’Neill Review on Antimicrobial Resistance states that the evidence linking farm antibiotic use and resistance in human infections “warrant[s] a significant reduction in farm antibiotic use, both by overall quantity and by antibiotics that are important for human health.” [1]
The government is now in a unique position to put these recommendations into practice as part of a post EU Referendum strategy for UK agriculture.
Around 90% of all UK veterinary antibiotic use is for mass medication of groups of animals. [2] There is also significant overuse across Europe of antibiotics classified by the World Health Organisation as ‘critically important’ for people [3], despite growing fears around human bacterial resistance to these vital drugs.
The recent discovery of antibiotic resistant E. coli and MRSA on UK-origin meat from major supermarkets is the latest sign that such practices are undermining the efficacy of our antibiotics. [4]
In March 2016, the European Parliament voted for a ban on all routine antibiotic use in farming, including a ban on the mass medication of groups of animals where no disease has been diagnosed within the group. [5] This proposal will be considered in upcoming Trialogues with the Council of Ministers, the European Parliament and the European Commission.
We urge the government to:
take a strong stand in support of the Parliament’s position during the upcoming negotiations
immediately introduce a UK-wide ban on the routine preventative mass medication of animals
urgently curb farm use of the ‘critically important’ antibiotics
Signatories
Professor Maureen Baker, Chair, Royal College of General Practitioners
Mr Babulal Sethia, President, Royal Society of Medicine
Professor Neena Modi, President, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
Professor Jane Dacre, President, Royal College of Physicians
Professor Derek Bell, President, Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
Professor David Galloway, President, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow
Professor John Middleton, President, Faculty of Public Health
Cecilia Anim, President, Royal College of Nursing
Professor Pali Hungin, President, British Medical Association
Dr Tajek Hassan, President, Royal College of Emergency Medicine
Mr Michael Lavelle-Jones, President, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
Dr Suzy Lishman, President, Royal College of Pathologists
Martin Astbury, President, Royal Pharmaceutical Society
Dr Richard Horton, Editor, The Lancet
Dr David McCoy, Director, Medact
References
[1] Antimicrobials in Agriculture and the Environment: Reducing Unnecessary Use and Waste, Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, Chaired by Jim O’Neill. P20
[2] Mass medication accounts for about 88% of UK farm antibiotic use (premixes, ie. in feed, and water medication together account for about 89%), see p29 of https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/477788/Optimised_version_-_VARSS_Report_2014__Sales___Resistance_.pdf,). The European Medicine Agency’s report on farm antibiotic states that virtually all premixes and oral powders (for medication via water) is for mass medication: see p26 of https://www.ema.europa.eu/documents/report/fifth-esvac-report-sales-veterinary-antimicrobial-agents-26-european-union/european-economic-area-countries-2013_en.pdf
[3] European Medicines Agency, 2016. Sales of veterinary antimicrobial agents in 29 European countries in 2014, Sixth ESVAC report, p137 https://www.ema.europa.eu/documents/report/sixth-esvac-report-sales-veterinary-antimicrobial-agents-29-european-countries-2014_en.pdf
[4] E.coli report: http://www.saveourantibiotics.org/media/1678/briefing-antibiotic-resistant-e-coli-on-supermarket-meat-a-serious-threat-to-human-health.docx. MRSA findings http://www.saveourantibiotics.org/news/news/livestock-associated-mrsa-found-in-uk-pork/
[5] European Parliament News, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/20160303IPR16930/superbugs-meps-want-to-curb-use-of-antibiotics-in-farming
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