Antibiotic Use Decreased, Resistance Stable in Germany
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Antibiotic Use Decreased, Resistance Stable in Germany

Nadine Eckert

December 19, 2022

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New figures on antibiotic resistance in Germany and Europe give a clear picture. Favorable developments in the use of antibiotics and the number of antibiotic-resistant pathogens have occurred. Nevertheless, more than 35,000 people still die every year in the European Union (plus Iceland and Norway) from antibiotic-resistant infections.

"A long-lasting effort is necessary to keep the [antibiotic-resistance] situation at a good level," said Tim Eckmanns, MD, head of the Department for Nosocomial Infections, Surveillance of Antibiotic Resistance and Usage at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) in Berlin, Germany. "We have a high-performance medicine in which we have to use antibiotics over and over again, and so resistance will carry on developing."

Two Resistant Pathogens

Eckmanns's department at the RKI has published the recent data on antibiotic resistance surveillance (ARS) in Germany up until 2021. The figures indicate that Germany is in a relatively favorable position. "Aside from the vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecum and the carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, nothing is on the rise," said Eckmanns.

While the prevalence of the carbapenem-resistant pseudomonads has risen in the last few years to 15%, the ARS reports that the vancomycin-resistant enterococci have reached a level as high as 20%-25%. "We have a problem with this pathogen in Germany; it has grown over the last few years, and the resistance has remained stable for the last 2-3 years, but at a very high level.

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