25.03.2010

A report on antimicrobial resistance in the UK has been published by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate.

The report summarises data collected in 2007 (or for the most recent previous year if there are no data from 2007) from across the UK for a range of bacterial organisms of medical and veterinary importance in the UK. This information was collated from a variety of sources, including surveys of healthy people, animals and food, as well as from the results of tests on medical or veterinary clinical diagnostic samples.

The Food Standards Agency contributed data on the types and amounts of foods of animal origin purchased within the UK and the antimicrobial resistance of isolates of campylobacter and salmonella obtained during three food surveys.

The report has been produced in response to a recommendation in a report on Microbial Antibiotic Resistance in Relation to Food Safety by the Advisory Committee on Microbiological Safety of Food. A key recommendation of this report was that the organisations responsible for monitoring antimicrobial resistance in animals, people and food should work together to produce a report summarising antibiotic resistance in the food chain in the UK.