SuperbugsU.K. parliament urges making antimicrobial resistance a priority

Published 26 October 2018

The British parliament is urging the government of Prime Minister Theresa May to make antimicrobial resistance (AMR) a “top five policy priority” in a new report. The report by members of the House of Commons’ Health and Social Care Committee warns that “modern medicine will be lost” if the government does not take more aggressive action to reduce inappropriate use of existing antibiotics and promote development of new antibiotics.

The British parliament is urging the government of Prime Minister Theresa May to make antimicrobial resistance (AMR) a “top five policy priority” in a new report.

The report by members of the House of Commons’ Health and Social Care Committee warns that “modern medicine will be lost” if the government does not take more aggressive action to reduce inappropriate use of existing antibiotics and promote development of new antibiotics.

“Visible and active Government leadership needs to be restored to tackle AMR,” members of the committee wrote in the report. “We therefore urge the Prime Minister to work closely with her relevant ministers to raise the profile of AMR both at home and on the international stage.”

CIDRAP reports that the report stems from a months-long inquiry by the committee into the progress the United Kingdom has made in responding to the AMR challenge, and what steps the government should take next. Since late May, the committee has been gathering written testimony and questioning health experts about the results delivered by the United Kingdom’s AMR 2013-2018 strategy. The inquiry also aimed to determine the priorities for the government’s next 5-year strategy, which is due to be published at the end of the year.

The parliamentary warning is underscored by a Public Health England (PHE) report published today that highlights the increasing threat of drug-resistant infections.

Developing new antibiotics, reducing use
The report from the Health and Social Care Committee makes recommendations in five key areas, starting with political leadership.

While recognizing that the United Kingdom is ahead of many other countries in having an AMR strategy in place, and that targets for reducing antibiotic use in humans and animals have been met in the past 5 years, the committee concludes that little progress has been made in other areas, and that the government of Theresa May is not prioritizing AMR or spending enough on efforts to tackle it. The report calls for more leadership and funding across all sectors of government.