The Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 267 No 7177 p805-809
8 December 2001

This article
Reprint
Photocopy

News summary

Europe writes antibiotic guidelines

Formal guidelines on the prudent use of antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents in human medicine have been adopted by the European Union’s Council of Ministers.

The non-binding recommendation, intended to contain the emergence of resistance, asks national governments to provide public information on the subject, to restrict antibiotics to prescription only, to carry out more research and to improve monitoring of consumption of these drugs.

It urges member states to draw up action plans to implement these policies and to co-ordinate effectively with each other, and with the Commission, which is tasked with supporting these through the EU network on the epidemiological surveillance and control of communicable diseases.

Back to Top