Antibiotics are a large group of important, sometimes life saving drugs. They are used for treatment of bacterial infections in people and animals. Antibiotics act by disturbing important functions of the bacterial cell. Bacteria can adapt and become resistant to antibiotics. From an evolutionary point of view, the combined use of antibiotics exert a selective pressure. Resistant bacteria are amplified and spread between people, animals and the environment. The result is that the miracle drugs gradually loose their effect. The consequence is that diseases are more and more difficult to treat.

For more than 50 years, antibiotics have been used in human and veterinary medicine. In many countries outside the EU, antibiotics are also used promote the growth of animals. Resistance is becoming more and more widespread among bacteria causing diseases in people and animals. Few truly new antibiotics reach the market. It is therefore imperative to curb the development of resistance. Antibiotics should only be used when really needed, the spread of infectious diseases must be minimised and the situation monitored regularly.