Chapter 25 : Concluding Remarks and Future Aspects: Some Personal Views

Abstract:

The antimicrobial agents are among the most important medical discoveries of the 20th century and are unique in the respect that their usage might itself lead them to become useless. It is very difficult to estimate the true human health risk associated with the use of antimicrobial agents for animals, since it involves estimation of selection for resistance to different compounds; the spread of clones, plasmids, and genes through the food chain; and the consequences of human infections with different bacterial species that are resistant to different antimicrobial agents. Several international bodies and conferences have addressed the need to have concrete and common approaches in order to control the global emergence of antimicrobial resistance. In 2000, the World Health Organization issued global principles for the containment of antimicrobial resistance in animals intended for food. In most countries it is now required that pharmaceutical companies perform postmarketing monitoring of antimicrobial resistance. International meetings and conferences have pointed to the need for more data through monitoring of the occurrence of resistance in different reservoirs. Antimicrobials are essential for the sake of both human and animal health. Antimicrobial-free production of food animals, as is currently attempted in organic production, is seemingly associated with so many welfare problems that it will become a viable production method only for a minor market.