The Department of Health and Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment have joined forces to deal with one of the world’s most serious health problems — antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
The Final Progress Report for Australia’s First National Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy 2015–2019 states that bacteria, viruses and fungi are continuing to develop resistance to existing medications, presenting a growing great risk of serious health impacts.
The Report also found that food production and the livelihoods and security of producers were in line to be affected.
Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management, David Littleproud said that globally the use of antibiotics in livestock had been recognised as a potential source for AMR.
“Australia is a world leader in minimising the use of antibiotics in food-producing animals which means there is a low risk of developing antimicrobial resistance from animals in this country,” Mr Littleproud said.
“We have introduced regulatory and industry changes to ensure that registered animal antimicrobials that are medically important for human health no longer claim to promote growth in animals.”
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, said the report identified important AMR initiatives and the collaborative efforts by Government and private sector organisations across the One Health sectors of human and animal health, food and the environment.
“These combined efforts aim to minimise the emergence and spread of drug-resistant organisms in Australia and the region, and will ensure antimicrobial medicines continue to be effective and available to treat infections into the future,” Mr Hunt said.
“We have seen antibiotic dispensing rates for Australians steadily decrease, down approximately 13 per cent since a peak in 2015, equating to around two million fewer prescriptions dispensed, which is a really positive development.”
He said that that and other initiatives showed there was an increasing understanding and awareness among doctors and the community of the importance of only using antibiotics when absolutely necessary.
