Joint press information of the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety, the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, and the Robert Koch Institute
Greifswald - Insel Riems, 15.09.17. Interactions between human, animal and environmental health are complex. Trans-sectoral problems such as antibiotic resistances or the occurrence of so far unknown pathogens can only be solved, if human and veterinary medicine and environmental experts cooperate and combine their knowledge. This One Health concept has gained increasing attention over the last few years. The first meeting of the national public health and veterinary public health institutions of the G20 member states on September 13 and 14, 2017, in Berlin showed that global challenges can only be mastered jointly. It was therefore agreed to continue the cooperation. The national institutes in the field „Environmental Public Health“ will be called in when necessary.
„The G20 meeting of the representants of the institutes is an important step forward for health protection“ emphasize the representants of the four German federal institutions, Reiner Wittkowski of the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Helmut Tschiersky of the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL), Thomas C. Mettenleiter of the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI), and Lothar H. Wieler of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), who met the heads of the institutes of the G20 member states.
The meeting of the public health and veterinary public health institutes took place at the occasion of Germany’s Presidency of the G20, the forum of the world’s 20 leading industrial and emerging economies. For the first time, global health was an item on the G20 agenda, in particular the sustainable improvement of the health systems of developing and threshold countries and the worldwide fight against antibiotic resistances. In May 2017, a first meeting of the Ministers of Health of the G20 member states was held.
While the FLI investigates pathogens and risk factors from the veterinary point of view, the RKI conducts research on human pathogenic mechanisms and has e.g. established an antibiotic resistance surveillance system. The BfR assesses the health risks arising from pathogens which are resistant against antibiotics and can occur in food products. The BVL is responsible for activities related to important veterinary pathogens, the Office publishes e.g. the quantity of antibiotics used in veterinary medicine.
After the meeting the participants agreed that joint activities to fight antibiotic resistances are of utmost importance and should be continued with high priority.
Contact at FLI
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Thomas C. Mettenleiter (President)
Tel.: +49 38351 7-1102
E-Mail: thomas.mettenleiter@~@fli.de
More information: : www.bfr.bund.de, www.bvl.bund.de, www.fli.de, www.rki.de
