Joakim Larsson, director of CARe, was recently invited to the WHO headquarters in Geneva to give a presentation on the Environmental Dimensions of Antibiotic Resistance to the “Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on antimicrobial resistance” (STAG-AMR) of the WHO. The meeting resulted in several concrete recommendations that were brought forward to the GD of the WHO, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus. These included e.g. encouraging the WHO to “work with relevant stakeholders (e.g. FDA, EMA, industry) to improve transparency with regards to the sites of manufacturing of active ingredients and associated environmental emissions” and also to “work towards the development of antibiotic pollution standards”. The group of Joakim Larsson have worked on industrial antibiotic emissions, transparency and the development of emission standards for many years.
- It is encouraging that the WHO endorses the environmental dimensions of antibiotic resistance, and that more concrete measures are now on the table, says Joakim Larsson
Link to report: http://www.who.int/antimicrobial-resistance/events/26-27-Feb-2018-STAG-meeting-report-and-Recommendations.pdf?ua=1