Food Protection Trends - January/February 2018 - 75

FIGURE 1. Spatial distribution of full susceptibility to the panel of antimicrobials tested among indicator
Escherichia coli from fattening pigs in EU reporting Member States, 2015, using harmonized ECOFFs (source: 6)

and EU Member States, to support the quality of the data
included in the report as well as to explore the potential of
whole genome sequencing (WGS) for AMR surveillance.
Within this exercise, selected isolates for which Member
States have reported AMR data to EFSA are submitted to
WGS analyses performed by the EURL-AR to investigate
the correlation between genotypes and phenotypes, detection of emerging resistance mechanisms and detection of
resistant clones.
Use of AMR monitoring data
AMR data collected by Member States and analyzed
by EFSA are useful to assess and follow up the AMR
epidemiological situation over the years in food-producing
animals and food in EU Member States, and can be
compared with similar data originating from humans,
which are also presented and discussed in the EUSR-AMR.
In addition, they allow further analysis on the possible
associations between AMC in food-producing animals
and humans. In 2011, the five-year European Commission
Action Plan against the rising threats from AMR introduced
a set of measures to further strengthen surveillance,
monitoring and data collection not only of AMR but also
of AMC, improving the scope and coverage in both human
and veterinary medicine. In the EU, the monitoring and
surveillance of AMR and AMC in humans are currently
coordinated by the ECDC, whereas the monitoring of AMC

in food-producing animals is coordinated by EMA. EFSA,
jointly with ECDC and EMA, has published two Joint
Interagency Antimicrobial Consumption and Resistance
Analysis ( JIACRA) reports that investigate the associations
between AMC and AMR (8, 9).
The first JIACRA report covered data from the years
2011-2012, while the second one covered data from the
years 2013-2015. Considering both datasets, positive
associations were observed between AMC and AMR
within animals and humans, between AMR in animals and
humans, and between AMC in animals and AMR in humans
for certain antimicrobials and bacteria. For example, in
relation to food-producing animals, statistically significant
associations were observed between consumption of and
resistance to fluoroquinolones, tetracyclines and polymixins
in E. coli. Consumption of macrolides was also significantly
associated with resistance in Campylobacter coli. In
addition, in an attempt to account for the co-selection
phenomenon, a statistically significant negative association
was consistently detected between the total AMC and the
occurrence of complete susceptibility in indicator E. coli
from food-producing animals, defined as susceptibility to
all the antimicrobial classes tested in the harmonized panel
prescribed by legislation. In the second JIACRA report (9),
multivariate analyses provided a unique approach to assess
the contributions of AMC in humans and animals and AMR
in bacteria from animals to AMR in bacteria from humans.
January/February Food Protection Trends

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Food Protection Trends - January/February 2018