Press Release: Use of antibiotics in animals – EMA to give advice to European Commission on public and animal health impact

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) will provide advice on the impact on public health and animal health of the use of antibiotics in animals. The request was made by the European Commission as part of its ‘Action Plan against the rising threats from Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)’.

The EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Veterinary Use (CVMP) and the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) will work together in providing the Agency’s advice, which is expected to provide a sound scientific basis to inform decisions on the way in which antibiotics are used in animals. The advice will have input from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The group will also call on additional expertise as required to address the range of questions to be answered, underlining the multi-sectorial approach to tackling antimicrobial resistance.

• Primary Source

EMA: Press Release: EMA/225000/2013 (16.04.13): Press Release: Use of antibiotics in animals - EMA to give advice to European Commission on public and animal health impact http://www.emea.europa.eu/docs/en_GB/document_library/Press_release/2013/04/WC500142068.pdf

EMA: Request for scientific advice on the impact on public health and animal health of the use of antibiotics in animals: Answer to the first request from the European Commission http://www.ema.europa.eu/docs/en_GB/document_library/Other/2013/07/WC500146812.pdf

EMA: Press Release: EMA/443757/2013 (30.07.13): Antimicrobial resistance - European Medicines Agency provides advice on use of colistin and tigecycline in animals http://www.ema.europa.eu/ema/index.jsp?curl=pages/news_and_events/news/2013/07/news_detail_001859.jsp&mid=WC0b01ac058004d5c1

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