FAO and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) are organizing a two-day webinar to raise awareness, share experience and knowledge on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in aquaculture for better understanding including challenges and priority issues.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) refers to microorganisms – bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites – that have acquired resistance to antimicrobial agents, e.g. antibiotics. While this phenomenon can occur naturally through microbial adaptation to the environment, it has been exacerbated by inappropriate and excessive use of antimicrobial agents.

The attention to AMR has increased during the last 10 years. AMR is considered a global health threat and is predicted to hinder achievement of the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and World Health Organization (WHO) formed a collaborative tripartite to target this issue and has since adopted a Global Action Plan on AMR to assist the three organizations in achieving their strategic plans at international, regional and national levels.

The FAO’s Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) Technical Guidelines on the Prudent and Responsible Use of Veterinary Medicines in Aquaculture (No. 5 Suppl. 8) provide recommendations and general guidance on the use of veterinary medicines in aquaculture to responsible government agencies, private-sector aquaculture producers and aquatic animal health professionals. They emphasize the need for Member Countries to encourage the prudent and responsible use of veterinary medicines in farmed aquatic populations. They emphasize, among the guiding principles, that responsible use of veterinary medicines in aquaculture requires collaboration among all stakeholders and a strong commitment to governance, awareness, best practices, surveillance and research, including monitoring of AMR, tracking of antimicrobial usage (AMU), assessing risk in different settings and evaluating  strategies to reduce AMR and maintain efficacy of antimicrobial agents. These guidelines  support the international aquatic animal health standards of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the food safety standards of the FAO/World Health Organization (WHO) Codex Alimentarius and the One Health platform under the FAO/OIE/WHO Tripartite Collaboration on AMR.

There are three basic questions pertaining to AMR in aquaculture:  

• What are the sources of AMR in aquaculture?
• What are the drivers of AMR development in aquaculture?
• How can AMR development in aquaculture be reduced or prevented?

The two-day webinar will provide some clarification on the above questions and increase our understanding of AMR issues in aquaculture through the sharing of expert knowledge and country level experience.

Further information can be obtained by writing to:

Melba.Reantaso@fao.org;
Bin.Hao@fao.org