Antimicrobials are medicines used to prevent and treat infections in humans, animals, and plants. However, the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials in people and animals, especially food-producing animals, may lead to antimicrobial resistance (AMR), meaning “the ability of bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi to resist these medicines.” In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) named AMR one of the top 10 threats to global health. Similarly, in 2022, the European Union’s (EU’s) Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), together with the EU member states, identified threats resulting from AMR as one of the top three serious cross-border health threats in the EU. Data from the WHO shows that AMR resulted in over 1.27 million global deaths in 2019 and contributed to 4.95 million deaths. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that more than 2.8 million antimicrobial-resistant infections occur each year in the U.S., and that more than 35,000 people die as a result.
The Global Legal Research Directorate (GLRD) of the Law Library of Congress recently completed research on the permitted uses of antimicrobials in animal agriculture in selected jurisdictions, namely Argentina, Brazil, Canada, the EU, Great Britain, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, and Russia. The report that resulted from this research focuses on whether antimicrobials are allowed as food and feed additives to promote growth and increase yield, or to prevent, control, or treat disease in animals. In addition, it provides information on whether the surveyed jurisdictions follow a “One Health Approach” concerning AMR. One Health recognizes that the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants, and the environment are closely linked and interdependent. Lastly, the report includes statistics on antimicrobial use (AMU), antimicrobial consumption (AMC), and AMR.
We invite you to review the information provided in our report here.
The report is an addition to the Law Library’s Legal Reports (Publications of the Law Library of Congress) collection, which includes over 4,000 historical and contemporary legal reports covering a variety of jurisdictions, researched and written by foreign law specialists with expertise in each area. To receive alerts when new reports are published, you can subscribe to email updates and the RSS feed for Law Library Reports (click the “subscribe” button on the Law Library’s website). The Law Library also regularly publishes articles related to agriculture and food, animals, and the food industry in the Global Legal Monitor.
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