On 4-5 April 2013, in its capacity as EU reference laboratory for antimicrobial resistance, the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, hosted the annual workshop, where representatives from almost all EU member states participated. The overall purpose of the meeting was to improve the determination of antimicrobial resistance in foodborne pathogens and to facilitate the harmonization of antimicrobial monitoring between the veterinarian, food and the public health sector.
Figures from the European Commission show that every year 25,000 people die in the EU as a consequence of infections with antimicrobial-resistant bacteria which cannot be treated. On 4-5 April 2013 around 70 researchers from both the public health and the veterinary field as well as representatives from authorities from the entire EU met at the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark.
The participants discussed how data from resistance monitoring in EU member states should be constructed in future, enabling a better comparison between member states. Representatives from the organisations present expressed their expectations to and reservations for the harmonisation initiatives, which have been introduced in order to provide comparable indications.
Monitoring programmes can be used to document problems and to take actions for improvements, which the authorities can use in their management of the resistance issue.
Fruitful co-operation across sectors
This was the first time that researchers from the Food and Waterborne Disease (FWD) network under the European Centre of Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), which covers the public health sector, were invited to the meeting. Thus, the lectures on the 2nd day of the meeting focused on striving to enhance the European monitoring of antimicrobial resistance and cases of fruitful research cooperation between the public health and the veterinary sectors. In the future, it is the intention to continue joint meetings across these sectors.
The National Food Institute advices the European Commission on resistance
The National Food Institute hosted the workshop as the institute is an EU reference laboratory for antimicrobial resistance. As a reference laboratory it is the duty of the institute to give research-based advice on antimicrobial resistance to the European Commission and EU member states.
Read more
Download the workshop programme (pdf) and read more about the EU reference laboratory for antimicrobial resistance on www.eurl-ar.eu.
Contact
Rene S. Hendriksen, senior researcher, rshe@food.dtu.dk, tlf. 35 88 62 88