UEMO celebrates Antimicrobial Resistance Week 2022

Each year, UEMO, together with other healthcare professionals, mark the week of 18-22 November to raise awareness of antimicrobial resistance and informing patients to always finish their prescribed antibiotics and to never take them to treat viral diseases.

A special Eurobarometer published on November 17 offers an overview of the Europeans’ attitudes towards antibiotics. The main results are:

The survey also showed a worrying lack of awareness by citizens as to the appropriate use of antibiotics:

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – the ability of microorganisms to resist antimicrobial treatments, especially antibiotics – has a direct impact on human and animal health and carries a heavy economic burden due to higher costs of treatments and reduced productivity caused by sickness. AMR is responsible for an estimated 33,000 deaths per year in the EU. It is also estimated that AMR costs the EU €1.5 billion per year in healthcare costs and productivity losses.