Eight years of sales surveillance of antimicrobials for veterinary use in Germany-What are the perceptions?

A surveillance system for sales volumes of antimicrobial agents for veterinary use was established in Germany in 2011. Since then, pharmaceutical companies and wholesalers have been legally obliged to report annual volumes of veterinary antimicrobial products sold to veterinary practices or clinics located in Germany. The evaluation of sales volumes for eight consecutive years resulted in a considerable total decrease by 58% from 1706 tons to 722 tons.

Ecotoxicological assessment of antibiotics: A call for improved consideration of microorganisms.

Antibiotics play a pivotal role in the management of infectious disease in humans, companion animals, livestock, and aquaculture operations at a global scale. Antibiotics are produced, consumed, and released into the environment at an unprecedented scale causing concern that the presence of antibiotic residues may adversely impact aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Here we critically review the ecotoxicological assessment of antibiotics as related to environmental risk assessment (ERA).

Analysis of the distribution of veterinary antimicrobial products to veterinarians in Germany in 2011 and 2012.

For the implementation of risk management measures against the development and spread of antimicrobial resistances it is important to gain a quantitative insight into the use of veterinary antimicrobial agents. Since 2011, all pharmaceutical companies and wholesalers in Germany are required to report their sales data of veterinary antimicrobial products (VAPs). In 2011, 1706 t of antimicrobially active substances were sold to veterinarians registered in Germany, in 2012 the amount decreased to 1619 t.

Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA) for environmental development and transfer of antibiotic resistance.

Background: Only recently has the environment been clearly implicated in the risk of antibiotic resistance to clinical outcome, but to date there have been few documented approaches to formally assess these risks.

Objective: We examined possible approaches and sought to identify research needs to enable human health risk assessments (HHRA) that focus on the role of the environment in the failure of antibiotic treatment caused by antibiotic-resistant pathogens.

Methods: The authors participated in a workshop held 4-8 March 2012 in Québec, Canada, to define the scope and objectives of an environmental assessment of antibiotic-resistance risks to human health.

Removal kinetics of organic compounds and sum parameters under field conditions for managed aquifer recharge.

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) provides efficient removal for many organic compounds and sum parameters. However, observed in situ removal efficiencies tend to scatter and cannot be predicted easily. In this paper, a method is introduced which allows to identify and eliminate biased samples and to quantify simultaneously the impact of (i) redox conditions (ii) kinetics (iii) residual threshold values below which no removal occurs and (iv) field site specifics.