ROLE OF AQUACULTURE IN THE EU ACTION PLAN ON AMR

EU is addressing the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as a global challenge being aware that bacteria know no borders. Hence, no single action could provide adequate solution and no Member State (MS) can tackle the problem on its own. EU inaugurated the first Community Strategy against AMR in 2001, which was followed by "One health" holistic approach addressing AMR in humans and animals from 2011. In 2015, the EU Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) carried out the evaluation of the 'Action Plan against the Rising Threats from Antimicrobial Resistance' to assess its relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and added value. The evaluation was performed in 28 MS using online surveys, public consultations, interviews, and informative workshops for stakeholders, desk researches and case studies. One of the case studies was focused on the aquaculture and AMR in maritime waters examining the successful reduction of antimicrobial use in aquaculture in Norway through prioritization of vaccines as a method of reducing therapeutic use of antimicrobials. Improvements in prudent use was result of combined actions, including improved rules, guidance and authorization requirements (e.g. antimicrobials for use in aquaculture should be prescribed by a veterinarian and that fallowing periods be used to break reinfection cycles), in combination with the availability of high-quality vaccines effective against bacterial diseases.  

A new EU One Health action plan against AMR was issued in 2017. This action plan is based on experiences of afore mentioned action plans and evaluation. Its goal is to preserve the possibility of effective treatment of infections in humans and animal providing a framework for continued, more extensive action to reduce the emergence and spread of AMR and to increase the development and availability of new effective antimicrobials inside and outside EU built on three pillars: (1.) Making the EU a best practise region where the Commission will concentrate on key areas with the highest added value for MS, respecting the limits of EU competence and bearing in mind that MS remain primarily responsible for the definition of their health policies. But Commission will continue to bring together all relevant scientific agencies with aim to support actions that will include the infection prevention, biosecurity measures and control practices in human healthcare and in animal husbandry, including aquaculture, in order to reduce infections and thus the need for antimicrobials use (AMU); (2.) Boosting research, development and innovation in all aspects of decreasing of AMU and prevention of AMR development including the understanding of the mechanisms of development, infection control and surveillance and prevention in all sectors including aquaculture and further boosting of vaccine development and use in aquaculture, and (3.) Shaping the global agenda where EU will continue to actively contribute to the normative work of the WHO, the OIE, the FAO, and the Codex Alimentarius on the development of ambitious international frameworks and

standards /norms/guidelines/methodologies related to AMR.

The Plan proposes measures to help MS implementation of antimicrobial stewardship practices ensuring an optimal use of antimicrobials and proposals for new Regulations on veterinary medicinal products and medicated feed, currently undergoing the ordinary legislative procedure and should be adopted by the end of 2018. Regulation will contain a set of requirements addressing the threat of AMR and including provisions on responsible use of veterinary antimicrobials. The Commission is gathering information on policies regarding the fight against AMR and action taken nationally to monitor AMR incidence in bacteria isolated from animals and meat from the main EU trading partners. The Commission systematically proposes to include this issues in all new Free Trade Agreements. In each of these three pillars the environment is highlighted as insufficiently addressed in previous action plans and therefore the new extensive efforts should be put in enlightening its role in the transmission of the AMR, its link between humans and animals and likewise a potential source of new resistant microorganisms when humans and animals and likewise a potential source of new resistant microorganisms. As the most of the aquaculture facilities are emerged in the aquatic environment, a special attention should be done to support the research on the role of aquaculture in AMR and transmission via food from water. At the same time GAP, biosecurity measures, prevention, alternative treatments and prudent and responsible AMU should be developed and implemented in aquaculture industry, basically on the national level of each MS