EN
Mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance are briefly presented, stressing that bacteria from clinical and non-clinical sources are becoming increasingly resistant during the 2 last decades to available antibiotics. Earlier this was the case in Gram-positive bacteria and during the last decade it is occuring faster in relation to Gram-negative bacteria. This is mainly due to mobile genes located on plasmids. The increasing international movement of humans, animals and animal products plays an important role in this global spread. Moreover, information on the emergence of a new antimicrobial antibiotic resistance in India and Pakistan is presented, on the basis of observations regarding Enterobacteriaceae, transferred by humans to the United Kingdom. It is encoded by the recently identified NDM-1 gene. This gene is responsible for the currently intensively spreading multiple drug resistance, posing a great risk to public health. In this situation the role of bacteria occurring in food and companion animals is evaluated as an additional risk to public health, although until now the mentioned gene has not been detected in strains from these sources. However other antibiotic resistance genes from this source can be transferred to bacteria occurring in humans. In connection with this the present European Union’s conclusions and recommendations on antimicrobial resistance of bacteria in animal reservoirs addressed to the Veterinary Services of the Member Countries with the intension of minimizing this hazard for human health are discussed.