20-Nov-2025
Working together to combat the spread of antibiotic resistance
BfR Federal Institute for Risk AssessmentReports and Proceedings
Human medicine, veterinary medicine and the environmental sector must work together to combat antibiotic resistance – this is not a new insight. But how often are which antibiotics used and where? And which bacteria carry which resistances? Such fundamental data must be collected across sectors and linked together in order to effectively stop the spread of resistance. This is precisely the goal of the OHIS group, in which the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) is also involved. "The investigation of bacteria along the food chain and the provision of resistance data has long been one of our core tasks," says BfR President Professor Dr Andreas Hensel. “This makes it all the more important to analyse and assess our data together with data from human medicine and the environmental sector. The only way to effectively limit the spread of antibiotic resistance is to take this joint perspective.” As part of World Antibiotic Resistance Awareness Week (WAAW), the OHIS group will meet next Thursday, 20 November, for a one-day specialist event to present existing activities and strengthen further cooperation.