Antimicrobial resistance is one of the most serious health emergencies, as reported by the WHO, especially in Italy. A National Observatory chaired by Walter Ricciardi, professor of Hygiene at the Catholic University of Rome and an expert in public health, who is also known to the general public for his role as advisor to Minister Speranza during the Covid-19 pandemic, was established to monitor the phenomenon and offer recommendations to health authorities. (1)
The Observatory on Antimicrobial Resistance in Italy.
The new body-the National Observatory on Antimicrobial Resistance (Onsar)-will operate in conjunction with theNational Observatory on Health in the Italian Regions of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart.
The goal is to collect and rationalize data, in collaboration with national and international scientific and academic institutions and other national, regional and corporate public institutions. Epidemiology work, curiously spearheaded by Ricciardi, who in 2015 as president of the ISS dismantled the very National Center for Epidemiology, Surveillance and Health Promotion (CNESPS) of the National Institute of Health. (2)
In November 2023, coinciding with World Antibiotic Awareness Week, the Observatory will draw conclusions in a report on antimicrobial resistance in Italy and make recommendations to healthcare institutions.
An alarming phenomenon
Globally, in 2019 alone, antimicrobial resistance claimed the lives of about 1.27 million people, roughly as many victims of malaria and HIV combined.
Italy is in particular distress. Of the 33,000 deaths per year recorded in Europe, one-third (11,000) occur in Italy. By 2050 this could rise to 450,000 with an economic impact to the NHS of 1.3 billion.
Antibiotic abuse
Antimicrobial drug resistance is unanimously considered to be the effect of misuse and inappropriate prescription of antibiotics to both humans and farm animals, in which the molecules residue ending up in food. Although there are viable alternatives, such as Algatan, which we have reported on.
Reports on the nefarious effects of this malpractice follow one another, without finding a way out.
In food, Salmonella and Campylobacter, the most prevalent pathogens as a cause of toxins, are increasingly resistant to antibiotics commonly used in human and animal therapies, according to a recent by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA ) listing of drugs now ineffective. (3)
Marta Strinati
Notes
(1) Antibiotic resistance, Onsar is born. Health care overview. 19.4.23 https://www.panoramasanita.it/2023 /04/19/antibiotico-resistenza-e-nato-onsar/
(2) Manuela D’Alessandro. History of the Center for Epidemiology that was depowered by Ricciardi. AGI. 11.12.20 https://www.agi.it/cronaca/news/2020-12-11/centro-epidemiologia-depotenziato-walter-ricciardi-istituto-superiore-sanit-10631421/
(3) Marta Strinati. Salmonella and Campylobacter increasingly resistant to antibiotics. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 9.4.21
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
