World Antimicrobial Awareness Week: Seven days of One Health

The theme of this year’s World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, which starts on Friday, November 18, is “preventing antimicrobial resistance together”, which recognizes that drug resistance cannot be addressed by one sector or industry alone. Limiting antibiotic resistance is a One Health challenge that cuts across the health of people, animals and the environment.

In recent years, the animal health sector has played its part by making enormous strides towards more responsible use of antibiotics, particularly in established markets in the US and Europe, as outlined in our latest progress report on reducing the need for antibiotics. These efforts have resulted in the UK reporting its lowest-ever year for antibiotic sales, while global trends indicate sales of preventative products, such as vaccines and parasiticides, have increased.

And to ensure the health of animals continues to be protected while improving antibiotic stewardship, the industry has pushed the frontiers of innovation with a pipeline of new treatments and technologies designed to lower disease risk. By keeping more animals healthy and free of illness, we can reduce the need for antibiotics and protect their efficacy for generations to come.

You can read more on this here.