§ Mr. JackTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of recent reports on the risks of human beings dying as a result of the development of antibiotic resistance. [40376]
§ Ms JowellAntibiotic resistance can complicate the treatment of some frail patients in hospital and can occasionally be life threatening. In any individual patient, it is usually very difficult to assess the contribution of antibiotic resistance on the outcome of an infection, since many of them are seriously ill from other conditions.
Such resistance is, to some extent, an inevitable result of antibiotic use. Nevertheless, the increasing prevalence of resistant strains is something we are taking very seriously indeed. That is why we have set in hand a number of initiatives to tackle the problem of resistance, including a review of the clinical use of antibiotics and their use in the food chain.
§ Sir Teddy TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made on the impact on the health of the population of the use of antibiotics by farmers to promote the growth of animals. [39947]
§ Ms JowellA working group of the independent expert Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food has been carrying out an in-depth review of the issue of antibiotic resistance in the food chain and hopes to report later this year. Views have been sought from a wide range of organisations to assist the working group in its deliberations.