“We are extremely pleased at the good attendance. It gives the start to the Presidency for which we had hoped”, said a delighted Minister for Social Affairs Göran Hägglund to gathered journalists after the first day of the informal ministerial meeting in Jönköping. Minister for Elderly Care and Public Health Maria Larsson and Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou, who is responsible for health issues at the European Commission, also took part in the press conference. Today, Monday, the EU countries’ health ministers have discussed measures against the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria and preparedness for the ‘new influenza’.

At the beginning of the meeting, preparedness for an influenza pandemic and its spread were discussed. At the meeting, the ministers exchanged views on experience and future areas of cooperation to improve preparedness for influenza.
“The work now continues to develop a common strategy that can be decided on by the health ministers in the autumn”, said Minister for Elderly Care and Public Health Maria Larsson.

Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou was also pleased with the meeting.
“We had a very productive discussion, where most of the ministers and experts present participated”, said Commissioner Vassiliou. She also talked about the Commission’s work to support the Member States in their fight against influenza.

The Swedish Presidency announced that an extra EPSCO meeting would be planned for the beginning of October. The continued work should be carried out in close cooperation with the World Health Organisation.
 

Antibiotic resistance, a growing problem

The spread of antibiotic resistance is a growing international problem, and one that risks having major global consequences in the form of human suffering and costs to the economy. This was discussed later in the afternoon, when the ministers also received a visit from Crown Princess Victoria, who is committed to the issue.

Antibiotics, i.e. medicines that kill bacteria, have been used in healthcare since the end of the 1930s, when sulfonamides were first used. The major breakthrough came after the Second World War, when penicillin was developed and began to be used on a large scale. Penicillin was discovered by the British researcher Alexander Fleming in 1928.

Modern healthcare is today dependent on antibiotics, which make possible operations, transplants, intensive care, cancer treatments and care of premature babies.

When bacteria develop a resistance to antibiotics, it is known as antibiotic resistance. The development of resistance is a growing problem throughout the world. Many previously effective antibiotics are losing their effect at an increasing rate. The main reason for the spread is that antibiotics are overused. Restrictions on the use of antibiotics are necessary in order to prevent the problem becoming even greater.
 

Need for new effective pharmaceuticals

At the same time, restrictions on use mean that it also becomes less profitable to develop new antibiotics that can fight the resistant bacteria. It is therefore important for the Swedish Presidency that the EU finds ways to encourage the development of new effective pharmaceuticals that can fight antibiotic resistance.

“It is a problem in the making. Action should have been taken sooner, but we must take our responsibility now”, said Minister for Social Affairs Göran Hägglund.

This same conclusion is drawn by Otto Cars, Professor of Infectious Diseases at Uppsala University and one of the speakers at Monday’s meeting.
“We can expect to see a small number of antibiotics which work in new ways in the near future.” Without effective antibiotics, many treatments in modern healthcare will involve great risks.