Nov. 01 2023
Source Page: Sales of veterinary antibiotics in the UK reach lowest ever levelFound: Sales of veterinary antibiotics in the UK reach lowest ever level
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the threat of antimicrobial resistance to human health from overuse of antibiotics on industrial farms.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government takes a ‘One-Health’ approach to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as set out in the ‘UK 5-year action plan for antimicrobial resistance 2019 to 2024’, which is underpinned by the UK’s 20-year Vision to Contain and Control AMR by 2040 . Defra is a co-signatory with the Department of Health and Social Care on the 5-year National Acton Plan and 20-year vision on AMR, and Defra leads on delivering the animal, plant and environment elements.
The UK is committed to reducing unnecessary use of antibiotics in animals to reduce the risk of development and spread of AMR in animals and humans. In the UK, we have a well-established antimicrobial use and resistance surveillance programme, which includes monitoring of sales and use of antibiotics in animals as well as routine monitoring of AMR in major food-producing species, healthy pigs and poultry. These surveillance programmes allow us to monitor progress and results are published every year in the UK Veterinary Antibiotic Resistance Sales and Surveillance (UK-VARSS) report.
The recently published UK-VARSS report shows that sales of antibiotics in food producing animals are at their lowest ever level, with a 59% reduction since 2014. This highlights the success of the UK’s voluntary and collaborative approach between Government and the farming and veterinary sectors to make sustainable reductions in antibiotic use whilst ensuring high animal health and welfare. The report also highlights that sales of highest priority, critically important antibiotics (HP-CIAs) have reduced by 82% since 2014 and account for less than half a percent of total sales. This is to ensure that these medically important antibiotics are protected for use in humans.
The newly published third edition of The UK’s One Health report, a joint report from Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) and UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA), brings together antibiotic use and resistance data for people and animals and sales of antibiotics in 2019 show that approximately two thirds of antibiotics are used in people whilst one third are used in animals. This report demonstrates the UK Government’s One Health approach to tackling AMR to keep antibiotics working in both people and animals.
Mentions:
1: Will Quince (Con - Colchester) As a result of drug resistance, antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines become ineffective and - Speech Link
2: Will Quince (Con - Colchester) We need an enormous awareness campaign and education piece around antibiotics, because their use may - Speech Link
3: Maria Caulfield (Con - Lewes) Friend eloquently described, the pipeline for new antibiotics is running dry. - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Lord Douglas-Miller (Con - Life peer) The legislation will make it very clear that antibiotics are not to be used routinely or to compensate - Speech Link
2: Lord Trees (XB - Life peer) That is all an extremely positive development.It is worth repeating, though, that antibiotics have been - Speech Link
3: None However, the prescribing of antibiotics, which must be by a veterinary surgeon, is always recorded for - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Mark Spencer (Con - Sherwood) The draft regulations make it clear that antibiotics must not be used routinely or to compensate for - Speech Link
2: Daniel Zeichner (Lab - Cambridge) The efforts made also include an 83% reduction in the use of the highest-priority antibiotics for human - Speech Link
3: Mark Spencer (Con - Sherwood) We have included provision for vets to prescribe antibiotics to prevent disease in animals in exceptional - Speech Link
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the safety of NHS England’s plan to allow community pharmacists to prescribe certain antibiotics.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pharmacists with an additional prescribing qualification are already allowed to prescribe medicines within their competence, including antibiotics. These skills are already being used in general practice and hospitals where many pharmacists have a prescribing qualification. Changes have been made to the initial training and education of pharmacists so that from 2026 all pharmacists will qualify with a prescribing qualification.
As part of the Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care, an additional investment up to £645 million will support a new Pharmacy First service which will allow community pharmacists to assess patients and provide treatments, including the supply of certain antibiotics. These will be supplied against Patient Group Directions (PGDs) which have been designed following extensive input from expert clinicians across the National Health Service to mitigate against the risk of increased antimicrobial resistance. The PGDs will be informed by the latest National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance to embed best practice and the new service will be closely monitored to ensure treatments, including antibiotics, are being supplied appropriately. In addition, a separate evaluation of the service will be commissioned by the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
Mentions:
1: Maria Caulfield (Con - Lewes) come.The ability of bacteria—and other pathogens—to develop resistance to the medicines, particularly antibiotics - Speech Link
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 14 March 2022 to Question 133232 on Antibiotics: Drug Resistance and to the policy paper entitled UK five-year action plan for antimicrobial resistance: 2019 to 2024, published on 24 January 2019, what recent progress her Department has made on halving healthcare-associated Gram-negative blood stream infections.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
As described in the answer of 14 March 2022 to Question 133232, progress towards the target of halving healthcare-associated Gram-negative bloodstream infections (GNBSI) has proved very challenging, in part due to the diverse nature of the underlying causes of these infections. Data on the incidence of these infections in England is published quarterly by the UK Health Security Agency, and is available at the following link:
Incidence of the three main healthcare-associated GNBSI organisms, E. coli, klebsiella pneumoniae, and pseudomonas aeruginosa, has fluctuated between 2019 and 2024, including a sharp decline in the incidence of E. coli seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, overall, the total incidence of healthcare associated GNBSI remains significantly above the target.
We are currently developing the 2024 to 2029 antimicrobial resistance national action plan. We anticipate that in the delivery of this plan, we will continue to focus on GNBSI, building on lessons learnt over the past five years.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to safeguard public health in connection with the supply of antibiotic-dosed meat to supermarkets.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Responsible use of antibiotics is an essential part of veterinary medicine: these medicines are needed to treat bacterial disease in animals. The UK Government is committed to reducing unnecessary use of antibiotics in animals whilst safeguarding animal health and welfare and antibiotic use in animals has reduced by 55% since 2014.
In the UK, antibiotics for animal use must be prescribed by a veterinary surgeon and we have strict maximum residue limits for food-producing animals. There is a comprehensive programme of statutory sampling and testing in place in the UK to look for residues of veterinary medicines, prohibited substances and contaminants in foodstuffs – this programme includes testing for a range of antibiotics, ensuring that they are being used in UK livestock in accordance with their authorisation. This activity is coordinated by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) in GB, and the results of testing and investigations are published on GOV.UK (link) on a quarterly and annual basis.
Written Evidence May. 15 2024
Committee: Environmental Audit CommitteeFound: Additionally, antibiotics are often overused.