HEALTH IN A
HEALTH IN A POST-PANDEMIC EU Prescribing our way out: The EU’s fight against antimicrobial resistance The silent pandemic that’s still too silent. By CHRISTOPH SCHWAIGER “It’s not going perfect,” said Danish MEP Pernille Weiss (EPP) about the EU’s fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR). With 35,000 citizens dying every year directly due to AMR, it’s an issue Europe is struggling to contain. Apart from the significant loss of life, it also hits economies hard, costing around €1.1 billion to the healthcare systems of EU/EEA countries. Weiss is the lead negotiator for the EU’s pharmaceutical directive. She also sits on the EP’s ENVI committee which deals with the topic of AMR. Bacteria are said to be resistant when, despite being in the presence of antibiotics meant to kill them, they manage to survive and continue to cause illness. Similarly, parasites, viruses, and fungi can also develop a resistance to drugs that target them. In 2022, the European Commission designated AMR as one of three priority health threats. Should the EU step in? Despite the clear and quantifiable consequences of inadequate measures against AMR, a joint report by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and WHO in 2019 found that 39
