In September 2016, the European Antibiotic Awareness Day received the European Health Award, a prize awarded each year by the European Health Forum Gastein. ECDC decided that the 2016 European Health Award prize money of 10,000.00 EUR should be donated to public health structures in the EU/EEA member states, in particular public health institutes or ministries of health, in order to support prudent antibiotic use campaign activities.
The emergence and spread of highly-resistant bacteria, especially those resistant to “last-line” antibiotics, such as carbapenems and colistin, is a grave public health concern and a threat to patient safety and economies in Europe.
The infographic “Antibiotics – be responsible” has been updated with new data (2015 surveillance data) and is now available in all the official EU/EEA languages.
On the occasion of the 9th European Antibiotic Awareness Day, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is releasing its latest EU-wide data on antibiotic resistance and antibiotic consumption.
The infographic explains what antibiotic resistance is and highlights the extent of the problems that we are facing due to antibiotic resistance and antibiotic consumption in humans – in hospitals and in the community.
To mark the European Antibiotic Awareness Day and World Antibiotic Awareness Week, ECDC is coordinating a 24-hour Global Twitter conversation on 18 November, with the participation of the World Health Organization headquarter and its Regional Office in Europe, and organizations from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States.
On 17 November, Health First Europe organises a meeting of the European Parliamentary Interest Group on Innovation in Health and Social Care to discuss tackling antibiotic resistance and healthcare-associated infections.