CDDEP blog: Animal antibiotic sales drop in the US. According to the 2016 US Food and Drug Administration summary report  “Antimicrobials Sold or Distributed for Use in Food-Producing Animals”, sales of medically important antibiotics employed in livestock production dropped for the first time in many years. CDDEP Fellow Eili Klein and NRDC Senior Attorney Avinash Kar write that while these developments are encouraging, it is estimated that the ban on using medically important antibiotics for animal growth promotion affects no more than ten to fifteen percent of antibiotic use in the US livestock sector. In a recent report, the World Health Organization (WHO) had called for a ban on antibiotic use for disease prevention in healthy animals. [CDDEP blog]

Quality medicines: an overlooked tool for fighting antimicrobial resistance. Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that ten percent of drugs in developing countries are substandard or fake, with antimalarials and antibiotics topping the list. CDDEP Director Ramanan Laxminarayan spoke to Scientific American on the often-neglected strategy of ensuring quality medicines as a means of fighting antimicrobial resistance. The danger is compounded in the many countries that lack mechanisms to ensure that patients are receiving quality medicines, and where antibiotics are still being sold over the counter. [Scientific American]

India creating “perfect storm” for superbugs. This week in the Geographical, author Victor Mallet writes on the presence of superbugs in the river Ganges in India, resulting from poor sanitation and the overuse and misuse of antibiotics. He quotes Ramanan Laxminarayan, “India has created a ‘perfect storm’ to produce dangerous strains of bacteria because of its high levels of infectious diseases, its large pharmaceutical industry, and the poor handling of antibiotics.” [Geographical]

Doxycycline effective in preventing sexually transmitted infections. A study in The Lancet Infectious Diseases reports that using doxycycline could reduce the incidence of sexually transmitted infections among men who have sex with men (MSM). The findings show that in MSM who used doxycycline as a prophylaxis, the incidence of chlamydia was reduced by 70 percent when compared with subjects using no prophylaxis. [The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Commentary]

More global flu deaths than previously thought. New data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that each year, more people die from influenza-related respiratory illnesses than previously estimated. The study pegs the number of annual deaths between 291,000 and 646,000; prior estimates were between 250,000 and 500,000 deaths. [The Lancet]

Vaccines can fight antimicrobial resistance. In a commentary in Nature, researchers argue that immunization along with antibiotics could offer the best solution to combat drug-resistant microbes. With the pipeline for new antibiotics running dry, vaccines offer a promising alternative: they do not prompt resistance, and they contain entire bacteria or viruses, or several antigens, inducing immunity against multiple targets. This makes it harder to develop resistance. [Nature commentary]

Dramatic rise of dengue in Acre, Brazil. A study in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases explains how commercial progress and infrastructure aided the spread of dengue in Acre state in northwest Brazil. National Public Radio reports that despite right climatic conditions, the state never recorded dengue cases before the year 2000. However, commercial development, landscape changes and human movement in and out of Acre have led to the rise in dengue cases. [PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, NPR]

Increase in foodborne Salmonella infections in EU. A report by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the European Food Safety Authority finds that cases of foodborne Salmonella infections have increased by three percent in Europe since 2014. S. Enteritidis was found to be the most widespread type of Salmonella, accounting for 59 percent of all cases, and mostly associated with the consumption of eggs, egg products and poultry meat. [European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control report, Press release]

Highly pathogenic H5N6 avian strain travels to The Netherlands. The Netherlands has confirmed that the recent outbreak in a duck farm near the city of Dronten was caused by a highly pathogenic reassortment strain of H5N6 avian flu. The H5N6 reassortment has been previously reported in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Cambodia. [CIDRAP]

Image courtesy: FDA Annual Summary Reports on Antimicrobials Sold or Distributed for Use in Food-Producing Animals.

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