Recommendation 2002/77 - Prudent use of antimicrobial agents in human medicine - Main contents

official title

 

Legal instrument	Recommendation
Number legal act	Recommendation 2002/77
Original proposal	COM(2001)333
CELEX number i	32002H0077

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Council Recommendation of 15 November 2001 on the prudent use of antimicrobial agents in human medicine (Text with EEA relevance)

Official Journal L 034 , 05/02/2002 P. 0013 - 0016

Council Recommendation

of 15 November 2001

on the prudent use of antimicrobial agents in human medicine

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2002/77/EC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 152(4) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Whereas:

• (1) 

  Antimicrobial agents are substances produced either synthetically or naturally by bacteria, fungi or plants, used to kill or inhibit the growth of micro-organisms including bacteria, viruses and fungi, and of parasites, in particular protozoa.

• (2) 

  The use of antimicrobial agents has greatly contributed to improvements in health. Such "antimicrobial agents" have been introduced for decades to treat and prevent infectious diseases and infections. However, their use has been accompanied by an increasing prevalence of micro-organisms that have acquired resistance to one or more of these, so-called "antimicrobial resistance". Antimicrobial resistance poses a threat to public health, may prolong the suffering of patients, increase healthcare costs and has economic implications for society. Therefore concerted action is necessary at Community level to contain this problem by encouraging the prudent use of antimicrobial agents in human medicine and better hygiene and infection control.

• (3) 

  The Council of the European Union on 8 June 1999 adopted a Resolution on antibiotic resistance entitled A strategy against the microbial threat(1). The Resolution highlights that antimicrobial resistance increases morbidity and mortality due to communicable diseases and leads not only to a diminution of quality of life but also to additional health and medical care costs, and that action needs to be taken at Community level.

• (4) 

  The own-initiative opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the Resistance to antibiotics as a threat to public health(2) identified possible initiatives and action that should be taken at Member State and Community level to address the problem of antimicrobial resistance.

• (5) 

  There is an association between the growing use of antimicrobial agents and an increase in the prevalence of micro-organisms resistant to those agents, but this relationship is clearly not a simple one. There are many possible factors influencing this relationship, including those related to the organism, to the host and to the mode of use of each drug. However, it is clear that antimicrobial resistance may not necessarily be overcome by the lengthy process of continuously developing new antimicrobial compounds.

• (6) 

  To develop strategies for prevention of infections and containment of resistant pathogens, accurate surveillance systems generating valid, reliable and comparable data on incidence, prevalence and modes of spread of resistant micro-organisms as well as on prescription and use of antimicrobial agents must be established throughout the Community. They should form an essential component for an overall surveillance strategy to address the problem of antimicrobial resistance and in particular, to assess the potential link between the use of antimicrobial agents and the development of resistance among these pathogens.

• (7) 

  An important step to avoid, or even reverse, further increases in resistant micro-organisms would be to reduce unnecessary and inappropriate use of antimicrobial agents. General principles and methods for the prudent use of these agents in humans must be identified, defined and implemented.

• (8) 

  The European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (EARSS) and the European Surveillance of Antibiotic Consumption (ESAC)...

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