S&T Committee (Lords): Resistance to antimicrobial agents

This response to the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee Inquiry points out that drug resistant organisms do not respect national boundaries and infections can be transported far from their origins very quickly. Hence, effective solutions to the current problem will not be achieved by the UK acting alone. The main reason for the current unsatisfactory situation is that, world-wide, there is no effective regulation of the use of antibiotics. The statement recommends that the availability of drugs be effectively controlled and prophylactic use discouraged.