Antibiotic resistance causes four times as many deaths as traffic accidents in Spain
Antibiotic resistance causes up to four times more deaths than traffic accidents in Spain and is one of the main threats to public health worldwide, according to Luis Alberto Calvo, president of the Collegiate Veterinary Organization (OCV). He released remarks on Nov. 17 in a news release from the OCV.
In Spain, Calvo said that antibiotic resistance is directly responsible for around 4,000 deaths a year, which makes it essential to adopt good practices to prevent the emergence and spread of resistance, a truly worrying phenomenon.
He said in the news release that prevention is the most effective method in reducing the use of antibiotics and veterinarians are the health profession with the greatest knowledge in this type of program. Data from 2014 to 2019 show antibiotic use in animals in Spain dropped by nearly 60%.
The work of veterinarians, in addition to being essential in prevention, is also essential in other matters such as awareness and research or biosecurity in livestock farms. The considerable reduction in the use of antibiotics in animals has had an impact on people and the environment.
Raising awareness in society
Calvo said that although veterinary medicine is one of the most committed professions in the fight against the use of antibiotics, there’s still work to be done to raise awareness in society about responsible use of antibiotics.
“It depends not only on protecting their health, but also that many of the surgical interventions or medical advances do not pose a risk due to the loss of effectiveness of antimicrobials," he said.
Reducing antimicrobial resistance represents a global challenge that must be faced urgently and that aims to become the leading cause of mortality in the world in a few decades if we do not work together and under a One Health approach to reverse the situation, he concluded.
A version of this article originally appeared on Portal Veterinaria.
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