The members of the European Parliament ’s Environment and Public Health Committee have advocated to ban collective and preventive antibiotic treatments of animals . Instead , the lawmakers want to stimulate research into new medicines so that new and better drugs can be developed . Use and overuse of antibiotics can spur resistance to the drugs , posing risks to human health . According to the World Health Organisation , 25,000 Europeans die each year due to antibiotic use . If they fail to work, a simple finger cut could become serious, and even life threatening,” the BEUC chief warned. In Denmark , the amount of antimicrobials – including antibiotics – given to farmed chicken decreased by 90 % in 13 years . In Norway , vaccination and improved fish health management helped antibiotic use in fish farming to almost disappear in less than 20 years . The European Parliament will vote on the issue in April or May.
The members of the European Parliament ’s Environment and Public Health Committee have advocated to ban collective and preventive antibiotic treatments of animals . Instead , the lawmakers want to stimulate research into new medicines so that new and better drugs can be developed . Use and overuse of antibiotics can spur resistance to the drugs , posing risks to human health . According to the World Health Organisation , 25,000 Europeans die each year due to antibiotic use . In Denmark , the amount of antimicrobials – including antibiotics – given to farmed chicken decreased by 90 % in 13 years . In Norway , vaccination and improved fish health management helped antibiotic use in fish farming to almost disappear in less than 20 years . The European Parliament will vote on the issue in April or May.