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DUBLIN, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Ireland on Friday urged its farmers to use antibiotics responsibly, saying that antibiotics are an important resource for agriculture but must be used wisely if they are to remain effective.
Irish Agriculture Minister Michael Creed took the opportunity of European Antibiotic Awareness Day to explain to farmers that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is threatening the future of antibiotics.
European Antibiotic Awareness Day is held annually on November 18. It is a European-wide annual event that raises awareness on how to use antibiotics in a responsible way that will help keep them effective for the future.
AMR occurs when microbes that could previously be killed by antibiotics are no longer susceptible. They have developed resistance, which means that many common bacterial infections are now becoming increasingly difficult to treat.
"Antimicrobial resistance is being increasingly recognized as one of the world's biggest problems in terms of human health," he said.
A recent British study suggests that AMR will be the leading cause of death in humans by 2050, making it a greater threat than cancer.
He went on to explain that this issue is relevant to the agriculture sector, because if AMR is to be tackled effectively, there must be collaboration across the human, veterinary and environmental sectors.
"AMR is a global problem that is not contained by borders or within any one sector," he said.
"As the agriculture sector is concerned, all of us, including government, the pharmaceutical industry, the veterinary profession, and farmers have a role to play," he added.
The Irish minister asked farmers to remember the four r's -- right animal, right drug, right dose, right duration.
"Antibiotics are a necessity for the agriculture sector in order to prevent and control disease and ensure that healthy animals enter the food chain. Therefore, we must all in the agri-food industry play our part in conserving this resource by using antibiotics prudently; by this I mean as little as possible and as much as necessary," he said. Enditem
