European Antibiotic Awareness Day 2014: EPRUMA calls on the EU institutions to promote the Responsible Use of antibiotics from a One-Health perspective

Brussels, 18 November 2014 – EPRUMA reiterates its commitment to promoting the Responsible Use of veterinary medicines, including antibiotics, and calls on the EU institutions to adopt a true One-Health approach regarding antibiotic policy.

10 September 2014: RUMA has published a wide ranging position paper on antibiotic resistance and antibiotic use in livestock.

Announcing the publication, RUMA Secretary General, John FitzGerald, said that understandably there is much debate at present on antibiotic resistance in human medicine and antibiotic use in human and veterinary medicine. The Prime Minister has raised the issue and two Parliamentary Committees have considered it with various groups, including RUMA, making submissions. This paper clarifies RUMA’s position on antibiotic resistance and how antibiotics can be responsibly used in UK livestock. It also addresses some of the inaccurate assertions about the use of antibiotics in livestock in the recent Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics (ASOA) paper.

Download the RUMA new story and the position paper from http://www.ruma.org.uk/news/20140408.htm.

8 July 2014: EPRUMA has produced a short video featuring its Chairman, Gwyn Jones, who explains the work of EPRUMA and what the Responsible Use of veterinary medicines means.

3 July 2014: Representatives from the Belgian Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products presented the 5th national report on veterinary surveillance of antibacterial consumption (BelVetSac) to a wide range of animal health stakeholders in Brussels today. For the second consecutive year, the report indicates a clear reduction in antibiotic use in veterinary medicine in Belgium.

20 May 2014: EPRUMA is happy to welcome AMCRA and VETRESPONSABLE, the Belgian and Spanish stakeholder platforms for the Responsible Use of veterinary medicines, as associate members.  Having AMCRA and VETRESPONSABLE on board means a strengthened representation for EPRUMA.

United Kingdom's Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture Alliance (RUMA) fully supports the UK Government’s five-year antimicrobial resistance strategy that was launched on 10 September 2013 and has produced an action plan for the livestock sector.

18 April 2014: The UK Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture Alliance (RUMA) has launched its revised guidelines for farmers on the Responsible Use of Antimicrobials in Poultry and Game Production.

EPRUMA is now on Twitter: https://twitter.com/epruma1.

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The 3rd international conference on Responsible Use of antibiotics in animals will be held in Amsterdam from 29 September to 1 October 2014. It is aimed at the animal health industry and the medical community, users of antibiotics in animals - such as veterinarians, producers, and nutritionists - and other food-chain stakeholders, as well as regulators, policy makers, researchers, educators, and consumer organisations.

18 November 2013: EPRUMA reiterates its support to the European Commission action plan on antibiotic resistance and calls on the EU institutions to promote the Responsible Use of veterinary medicines across all EU Member States.