While this is still an emerging issue, the global rise of multi-drug resistant superbugs forces us to consider all dimensions of the ’One Health’ approach, including environmental.
On 10 December 2015, EPHA and Health Care Without Harm Europe organised an event in the European Parliament to discuss the link between drug-resistant inflections (anti-microbial resistance, AMR) and environmental pollution, focusing on antibiotics manufacturing and animal husbandry. The debate concluded that European regulators must push for enforceable standards and regulation in the pharmaceutical supply chain.
The European Parliament debate ‘Pharma Pollution: An ignored cause of AMR’ was hosted by MEPs Martin Haeusling (Greens, Germany) and Jasenko Selimovic (ALDE, Sweden). Speakers included Jim O’Neill, chair of the UK Government review on AMR who emphasised the scale of the economic threat posed by drug-resistant infections worldwide. The Review’s latest report, ’AMR in Agriculture and the Environment’ calls for global limits to antibiotics use, and a final report with recommendations aims to be released in mid-2016 and used to persuade the United Nations to draft an international agreement.
Despite a number of scandals and growing evidence that pollution in the environment from active antibiotic ingredients is rising, this aspect of AMR has until now been little discussed. While this is still an emerging issue, the global rise of multi-drug resistant superbugs forces us to consider all dimensions of the ’One Health’ approach, including environmental.
Natasha Hurley of ChangingMarkets, co-authors of the ’Bad Medicine’ report by SumOfUs, revealed a complex web of links between well known pharmaceutical brands including Pfizer and Teva and antibiotic-producing factories around the world who release active ingredients into the local environment, contributing to the global rise in drug-resistant infections. WHO Chief Scientist Roberto Bertollini presented the WHO’s new Global Action Plan on AMR and called for international standards. Helen Clayton of DG Environment of the European Commission gave a preview of the forthcoming report on Pharmaceuticals in the Environment, and the review of the EU’s AMR Action Plan in 2016.
A new EPHA report further explains connection between pharmaceutical pollution and AMR as well as possible solutions.
