Health Further efforts needed in the fight against antibiotic resistance

Switzerland's new antibiotic resistance report shows a decrease in the use of antibiotics, particularly in veterinary medicine. Nevertheless, it points to a need for further action in the correct use of antibiotics to combat resistance.

In the new "Swiss Antibiotic Resistance Report 2024", the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO), the Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG) and the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) show that the use of critical antibiotics suspected of promoting resistance is continuing to decrease. Their use has fallen by 26 percent since 2014, as they announced on Monday.

In veterinary medicine, the use of critical antibiotics in farm animals has fallen by 76 percent since then. The decline was also significant for pets. The federal offices attribute this to the high sense of responsibility of veterinarians.

After the Covid-19 pandemic, however, the use of antibiotics in human medicine rose again. One fifth of prescriptions included non-recommended antibiotics.

SDA