Tweet
Source: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-pers...an-oct-22-2020
News Scan for Oct 22, 2020
Decline in Europe's veterinary antibiotics; Antibiotic research data shared; WHO polio statement
Filed Under:
Antimicrobial Stewardship; Polio
Report shows significant drop in European veterinary antibiotic sales
Sales of veterinary antibiotics in European countries fell by more than one-third from 2011 through 2018, according to a report yesterday from the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
The latest European Surveillance of Veterinary Antimicrobial Consumption (ESVAC), which includes data from 25 European Union (EU) and European Economic Area countries, shows that overall sales of veterinary antibiotics declined by 34.6%, with notable declines in sales of antibiotics considered critically important for human medicine. Sales of third- and fourth-generation cephalosporins fell by 24%, polymyxins by 70%, fluoroquinolones declined by 4%, and other quinolones decreased by 74%.
Eighteen of the 25 countries providing data saw sales declines of greater than 5%, while 5 countries saw increases of more than 5%.
"The steady decrease in sales of veterinary antibiotics over ten years shows that Europe is on the right track to fight antimicrobial resistance," Ivo Claassen, head of EMA's Veterinary Medicines Division, said in a press release. "EU guidance and national campaigns promoting prudent use of antibiotics in animals are having a positive effect."
Among the potential explanations for the sales declines are the implementation of responsible-use campaigns, restrictions on veterinary antibiotic use, increased awareness of the threat of antimicrobial resistance, and the implementation of targets for reductions in veterinary antibiotic sales.
The authors of the report note that differences in reported sales and sales patterns between countries are likely to be partly due to differences in the occurrence of bacterial disease, the composition of the animal population, and production systems, and that direct comparisons should not be made between countries without considering these differences. But the reduced sales of veterinary antibiotics in some countries indicate the potential for a reduction in other countries as well, they said.
Oct 21 ESVAC report
Oct 21 EMA press release
Drug makers share discontinued antibiotic research data
The Pew Charitable Trusts announced yesterday that Merck and Kyorin Pharmaceutical Co. of Japan have shared antibiotic research data from a discontinued joint research program with Pew's open-access Shared Platform for Antibiotic Research and Knowledge (SPARK).
The preclinical, previously unpublished data come from research the two companies conducted on a potentially novel way to attack gram-negative bacteria that involves targeting two types of enzymes—DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV.
Pew launched SPARK in 2018 to spur basic research into new antibiotics for gram-negative bacteria. The database provides access to chemical and biological data from published and unpublished studies and discontinued research programs, with a focus on molecules that take new approaches to overcoming the defenses of gram-negative bacteria. SPARK is open to scientists from industry, academia, government, and nonprofit research groups, with the hope that they can learn from past research and gain insights that will advance antibiotic discovery efforts.
"As we face the COVID-19 pandemic—with millions of patients vulnerable to secondary infections due to weakened immune systems—the need for new antibiotics that can treat multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections has never been greater," Kathy Talkington, MPaff, director of Pew's antibiotic resistance project, said in a press release. "Our hope is that the data from Merck’s research will help catalyze discovery of new antibiotics for Gram-negative pathogens."
Oct 21 Pew Charitable Trusts press release
WHO warns of ongoing risk of international polio transmission
The World Health Organization's (WHO's) International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee said today that the ongoing risk of international spread of poliovirus remains a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) and requires a coordinated response.
The IHR committee made the announcement following an Oct 14 meeting during which members reviewed 2020 data on wild poliovirus (WPV1) and circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPVs). That data showed a 42% increase in global incidence of WPV1 cases in 2020 compared with 2019 (121 vs 85 from Jan 1 to Oct 5), with all cases detected in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and a 70% increase in the number of positive environmental samples (375 vs 221).
The data also showed that the number of cVDPV type 2 cases in 2020 is up, with 409 as of Oct 5, compared with 378 cases reported for all of 2019. Analysis of cVDPV2 isolates collected from April through June shows cross-border transmission between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and between several African countries (Ivory Coast, Mali, Guinea, Ghana, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, and Burkina Faso).
The committee also heard that routine immunization services and vaccine supplies have been routinely disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that surveillance indicators have dropped in many of the outbreak countries. The experts unanimously agreed that the risk of international spread of WPV1 and cVDPV2 is rising, and recommended the extension of temporary recommendations for another 3 months.
"The Committee recognizes the concerns regarding the lengthy duration of the polio PHEIC, but concludes that the current situation is extraordinary, with clear ongoing and increasing risk of international spread and ongoing need for coordinated international response," they said.
Oct 22 WHO IHR Emergency Committee statement
News Scan for Oct 22, 2020
Decline in Europe's veterinary antibiotics; Antibiotic research data shared; WHO polio statement
Filed Under:
Antimicrobial Stewardship; Polio
Report shows significant drop in European veterinary antibiotic sales
Sales of veterinary antibiotics in European countries fell by more than one-third from 2011 through 2018, according to a report yesterday from the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
The latest European Surveillance of Veterinary Antimicrobial Consumption (ESVAC), which includes data from 25 European Union (EU) and European Economic Area countries, shows that overall sales of veterinary antibiotics declined by 34.6%, with notable declines in sales of antibiotics considered critically important for human medicine. Sales of third- and fourth-generation cephalosporins fell by 24%, polymyxins by 70%, fluoroquinolones declined by 4%, and other quinolones decreased by 74%.
Eighteen of the 25 countries providing data saw sales declines of greater than 5%, while 5 countries saw increases of more than 5%.
"The steady decrease in sales of veterinary antibiotics over ten years shows that Europe is on the right track to fight antimicrobial resistance," Ivo Claassen, head of EMA's Veterinary Medicines Division, said in a press release. "EU guidance and national campaigns promoting prudent use of antibiotics in animals are having a positive effect."
Among the potential explanations for the sales declines are the implementation of responsible-use campaigns, restrictions on veterinary antibiotic use, increased awareness of the threat of antimicrobial resistance, and the implementation of targets for reductions in veterinary antibiotic sales.
The authors of the report note that differences in reported sales and sales patterns between countries are likely to be partly due to differences in the occurrence of bacterial disease, the composition of the animal population, and production systems, and that direct comparisons should not be made between countries without considering these differences. But the reduced sales of veterinary antibiotics in some countries indicate the potential for a reduction in other countries as well, they said.
Oct 21 ESVAC report
Oct 21 EMA press release
Drug makers share discontinued antibiotic research data
The Pew Charitable Trusts announced yesterday that Merck and Kyorin Pharmaceutical Co. of Japan have shared antibiotic research data from a discontinued joint research program with Pew's open-access Shared Platform for Antibiotic Research and Knowledge (SPARK).
The preclinical, previously unpublished data come from research the two companies conducted on a potentially novel way to attack gram-negative bacteria that involves targeting two types of enzymes—DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV.
Pew launched SPARK in 2018 to spur basic research into new antibiotics for gram-negative bacteria. The database provides access to chemical and biological data from published and unpublished studies and discontinued research programs, with a focus on molecules that take new approaches to overcoming the defenses of gram-negative bacteria. SPARK is open to scientists from industry, academia, government, and nonprofit research groups, with the hope that they can learn from past research and gain insights that will advance antibiotic discovery efforts.
"As we face the COVID-19 pandemic—with millions of patients vulnerable to secondary infections due to weakened immune systems—the need for new antibiotics that can treat multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections has never been greater," Kathy Talkington, MPaff, director of Pew's antibiotic resistance project, said in a press release. "Our hope is that the data from Merck’s research will help catalyze discovery of new antibiotics for Gram-negative pathogens."
Oct 21 Pew Charitable Trusts press release
WHO warns of ongoing risk of international polio transmission
The World Health Organization's (WHO's) International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee said today that the ongoing risk of international spread of poliovirus remains a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) and requires a coordinated response.
The IHR committee made the announcement following an Oct 14 meeting during which members reviewed 2020 data on wild poliovirus (WPV1) and circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPVs). That data showed a 42% increase in global incidence of WPV1 cases in 2020 compared with 2019 (121 vs 85 from Jan 1 to Oct 5), with all cases detected in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and a 70% increase in the number of positive environmental samples (375 vs 221).
The data also showed that the number of cVDPV type 2 cases in 2020 is up, with 409 as of Oct 5, compared with 378 cases reported for all of 2019. Analysis of cVDPV2 isolates collected from April through June shows cross-border transmission between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and between several African countries (Ivory Coast, Mali, Guinea, Ghana, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, and Burkina Faso).
The committee also heard that routine immunization services and vaccine supplies have been routinely disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that surveillance indicators have dropped in many of the outbreak countries. The experts unanimously agreed that the risk of international spread of WPV1 and cVDPV2 is rising, and recommended the extension of temporary recommendations for another 3 months.
"The Committee recognizes the concerns regarding the lengthy duration of the polio PHEIC, but concludes that the current situation is extraordinary, with clear ongoing and increasing risk of international spread and ongoing need for coordinated international response," they said.
Oct 22 WHO IHR Emergency Committee statement